


Professor Tufts

by RoseLilian



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Timeline, Alternate Universe, Complete, Gen, Harry raises Tom, Hufflepuff Harry, Professor Harry, Reincarnation, Sane Tom Riddle, Time Travel, Young Tom Riddle, harry adopts tom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-09-18
Packaged: 2018-12-12 12:28:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 26,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11737044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseLilian/pseuds/RoseLilian
Summary: Harry goes back in time due to a quirk of being the owner of the invisibility cloak (reincarnation deal). Time-travel, professor Harry with new (OC) identity, child Tom Riddle. No bashing involved. HP and canon belong to JK Rowling. This is less of a show and more of a tell story i.e. Dialogue gets really scarce at about ch. 9 and lots of time jumps.I may merge some of the chapters as they're so short and I already have them written.Cross posted on other sites.





	1. Farewell, Harry Potter

**Author's Note:**

> Harry's reincarnation will be out of character so do not expect a story about canon Harry Potter in the early 1900's. Harry Potter and canon are the property of J K Rowling.

 Today was Harry Potter’s first day on the job. Finally, he was given the opportunity to study Death’s Archway, the literal veil, the instrument of his godfather’s death. It had taken him years to work his way up to this position: one of the unspeakables tasked with studying death (or Death, depending on which self-styled philosopher is boring you at the time). The road had been filled with disappointments and tragedy, but there had also been joy and love and contentment. He had never really expected to lead a truly happy life (though when he was younger he had hoped) and in this one thing, fate chose to prove him right.

 After Voldemort was gone, Harry had been offered a spot in the Auror program alongside Ron, which he had accepted. Soon after he had married Ginny, and they had had twenty-five blissful years together. Funny how a witch who had survived war, terror, childbirth, and a successful career in quidditch was brought down by a badly brewed pepper-up potion. The Potters had gone on a camping trip in the spirit of bonding, badly needed after the whole time-travel fiasco that Albus had gotten himself into, and they had been caught in a surprise rainstorm. Rather than going home, they went directly to St. Mungo’s to treat their pneumonia, and the healer had given Harry four doses of pepper-up and left the room for a fifth. Harry, the caring father and husband, had insisted that he could wait until the healer came back with the fifth dose. When the healer did come back, Harry was casting every healing charm he could think of on his quickly expiring family. It only took the healer one diagnostic charm to realize that the batch of pepper-up potion had been past its shelf-life (a shorter shelf-life is a common side effect of improperly brewed potions) and had in fact become poisonous. At the age of 45, Harry Potter was once again the only living Potter.

 Depression set in, fuelled by guilt, loss, anger, resentment, and, worst of all, self-pity. He couldn’t bear to see the Weasley’s, they only reminded him of Ginny, though in his sane moments he wondered how George could stand to see his twin’s face in the mirror every day. It had been Hermione that had pulled him up from the lows he’d sunk, and Ron who had first suggested a muggle therapist (there was no magical equivalent in Britain). The therapist had suggested funneling his grief into positive endeavors, and so Harry studied potions. Studied so that he would know what killed his family, and if there was anything he can do to prevent a repeat of that mistake from ruining someone else’s life. Needless to say, he started with the Half-Blood Prince’s diary, which he had retrieved from Snape’s office back when he had helped rebuild Hogwarts in 1998. By the age of 48 he had become one of Britain’s top potion experts (possibly due to the late Severus Snape allowing so few students into NEWT potions). It was then that he had first been approached by the unspeakables. They, after years of nagging from Hermione, were studying the wolfsbane potion with the goal of improving on it. Harry was quick to accept.

 He had always, in the back of his mind since Sirius’s death, known that they studied death and the Archway, and had been himself reluctantly curious about both. At the age of 50, he was finally in a position to sate his curiosity.

 Within a month of starting his new position Harry was comfortable enough with the Archway to get up close and study the runes carved on its surface. One of the requirements of being an unspeakable was basic knowledge of runes, and Hermione had been more than happy to lend him her old notes to study from. Due to his intense (recently developed) study habits, and wit sharpening potions, he had been able to cram five years of ancient runes into three.

 After six months on the job, Harry was letting his curiosity (and complacency) get the better of him, and had started to take shortcuts in the safety procedures. Then came the day when the lack of adherence to the safety procedure bit him in the bum. He was studying the runes at the base of the Archway when the veil slowly (almost stealthily) rose and caressed his cheek. And that was the end of Harry James Potter.

* * *

 When Harry opened his eyes, he was back at the brilliantly white King’s Cross station, the same one he had found himself in the last time he had died thirty-three years ago. This time though, no one needed to tell him to imagine clothes on.

 Harry got up and looked around for Dumbledore, but it wasn’t Dumbledore who met him. Sirius, looking healthier though still in his thirties, was grinning at him from a few yards away. “What trouble did you get into this time?”  

 “You don’t know? And why isn’t Dumbledore here?” Harry was elated to see Sirius, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t confused.

 “You were thinking of me before you got here, so I am the one who meets you.”

 “I thought that was a one-time thing, the not dying? Because of the Horcrux and how Voldemort resurrected himself.”

 “You are right, but this is slightly different. You know about the cloak.”

 “Death’s cloak, but I threw the wand and the stone away, I didn’t keep them.”

 “Yes, and the powers that be are very impressed with you – few would willingly give up that sort of power. This is, however, about the cloak. How did Ignotius Peverell die?”

 “He died of old age, when he was ready.”

 “Exactly. The owner of the cloak is protected from death, but not mortality.”

 “What about dad?”

 “The owner is not protected against magic. Most curses don’t kill you, they only cause damage that will result in your death. The killing curse actually separates your soul from your body, and owning cloak does not protect against that. For that reason, you are here today. Your ancestor was promised safety from death, and the Archway is an extension of death, so technically you can’t die from it.”

 Harry closed his eye and slowly counted backwards from ten. This just kept getting more and more ridiculous. “So, I get to go back again, or do I still have the option of moving on?”

 “No to both. The option to move on before old age was only available because you were hit with the killing curse, but your whole body went through the Archway so there is nothing for your soul to go back to.” Sirius gave a soft sigh and held up a hand to forestall Harry’s next question. “Basically, what we can do is find your last incarnation that died before old age but whose body is still capable of housing a soul, and putting you in that. That body will then age and you will die when it reaches 200 or so years.” Sirius stopped and gave Harry time to digest this.

 Harry counted backward again; new heights of ridiculousness were being reached at that exact moment. “I have several questions. First, incarnation?”

 Sirius smiled. “Souls are constantly reincarnated until they rack up enough life experience to be moved on to the next level of existence. Last time, your option to move on was, in fact, the option to start your next incarnation. Usually, a decade or so passes in the mortal realm between when a wizard dies and when they are next reincarnated. Obviously, this is dependent on birthrates and available containers or fetuses.”

 “So, I died in 1971? In my last life?”

 “Around then, yes, however the life we’re sending you to is a different one. You were born on August 14, 1899, and died on April 5, 1919 from handling a cursed object. Your grandfather, who had raised you after your parents’ death, had just died and you were cleaning out his attic. No one knows you died yet, so you won’t be famous for surviving again. Since memory is largely held in the physical brain, you should fit into his, or your, life seamlessly.”

 “Wait, memory is in the physical brain? Does that mean I won’t remember this life?”

 “Yes… and no. one of the differences between wizards and muggles is that wizarding physiology allows greater freedom for the soul to act and interact within the mortal realm. That is what makes wizard-kind ‘magical’, but it also means that they often retain some memories of their previous lives at inception. Fortunately, the changes the fetus undergoes and the huge amounts of new memories that a growing child makes often cause the old memories to be overshadowed and forgotten. In your case, you will probably remember this life as if it was a book you had read. A lot of the emotional context will be gone and you will find it takes effort to remember specific events and dates.”

 “But I will change the timeline, Hermione always said bad things hap-”

 Sirius scoffed. “ _The_ timeline?!? Ridiculous! This will cause a fork in _this_ timeline, causing it to split into two. Don’t even try to figure it out, because it’s beyond your still alive mental capacity right now. Just don’t stress about changing history, it’s not a concern. Also, I should point out that you don’t have a choice; this is your only option. This is only a courtesy heads-up because the powers that be like you so much.” A train came into the station and one of its doors opened up. “That’s your ride, kiddo. Good luck.” With that, Sirius shoved Harry into the train.


	2. A Past Relived

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clarifications:  
> > Sirius Black's soul has already been reincarnated - the Sirius Black Harry meets is just one of Death's minions who drew on Harry's memories of Sirius to play the part.  
> > The cloak protects from unnatural death other than any magic that severs a soul from a body. So if Harry had an accident that broke his neck, he would heal almost instantaneously. If Harry had a natural brain aneurism (or dragon pox), he would not heal and would most likely die.  
> > Johan had spent his teen years going through his grandfather's attic and so did not realize that there were boxes of dangerous artifacts that his grandfather had hidden. After his death, those boxes revealed themselves to Johan who went through them not knowing that they had cursed items.

 To Harry, it felt like instead of stepping onto the train, he stepped into a body. A very familiar body. And he remembered; his name is Johan Aedan Tufts, Hogwarts graduate of 1917, Hufflepuff, though mostly because his grandfather was one and he had wanted to be just like him. He had never regretted that choice. Those had been very happy seven years mostly because of his housemates and the deep friendships he had forged there. Upon graduation, he had quickly gotten a job as a secretary in the Auror department mostly because one of his housemates’ uncles was the head of the department. He was also currently working on his runes mastery and hoped to replace the current ancient runes professor at Hogwarts once she retires a decade or so from now.

 While the grief at his beloved Nono’s passing was still fresh (it had only been several months ago), the man had lived a long and fulfilled life, with no regrets holding him back. He had only held on for so long because he wanted to make sure that Johan was capable of taking care of himself. Though there were other Tufts out there, they were distant relations and neither Johan nor Nono had much contact with them.

 He still remembered Harry Potter, but the memories were vague and he felt no need to focus on them. Pushing the memories back, he looked at the cursed watch that had just killed him. Maybe it would be better to have a curse breaker help him go through Nono’s things.

* * *

 Years passed. Johan had inherited a small cottage in Hogsmeade from Nono, and while many of the things in the attic were dangerous (relics from Nono’s days as an adventurous curse breaker) they were also worth a tidy sum. That plus the modest amount in the family vault made for a nice nest egg for Johan. He kept his job because he enjoyed it, he liked his employer and coworkers and didn’t want to leave them in the lurch, and it allowed him to stay in the loop of the goings on in the wizarding world. The pay was enough so that he didn’t have to use any of his inheritance except for making use of the cottage.

 He soon finished his mastery, and started taking on tutoring jobs, building up his teaching experience and resume as well as increasing his nest egg. Professor Smith, the current ancient runes professor at Hogwarts, was very fond him and had made it known to Headmaster Dippet that she hoped that Johan would be her successor. In 1931 Johan became the assistant professor to Smith, and two years later she officially retired, give full professorship to Johan. Professor Tufts had achieved his career goal at the age of thirty-two, becoming one of the youngest professors in the history of Hogwarts.

 It was now summer of 1938, and Johan was a seasoned professor, well-liked by his students. His people skills (honed in Hufflepuff as well as in his secretary job) helped him maintain good relations with his students, and his calm persona further put them at ease. Johan hated giving quizzes and as often as he could he would turn learning into a game. He drew on his memories from Harry Potter’s life to develop an ancient runes version of jeopardy, and made sure to emphasize the practical applications of what he was teaching so as to keep his students interested.

 Having just finished reviewing and finalizing his lesson plans for the upcoming school year, Johan made his way to Hogwarts’ kitchens for a celebratory snack. Just as he was reaching up to tickle the pear, he heard his name being called out by Albus Dumbledore, the Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts, as well as its transfiguration professor and Head of Gryffindor house.

 “Ah, Johan, forgive me for intruding on your time, but could I ask you for a favor?” Dumbledore gave Johan his best twinkle-eyed smile.

 “You can always ask, Albus. What do you need?” Johan laughed. Albus often acted like an over grown (highly intelligent) child, but it was a trait shared by many in his house.

 “Would you be able to hand deliver a muggleborn letter for me? I delivered most of them this morning, but this is a special case since Tom Riddle-“

 Riddle! He remembered that name – Harry Potter knew that name!

 “-Is an orphan living in a muggle orphanage. We are not allowed to let his care-takers know about the wizarding world, but there still needs to be some interaction with them in order for Tom to attend Hogwarts. The parents of the muggleborns I met today made it quite obvious that I stood out in the muggle world. My muggle clothes were apparently not very conservative.”

 Here Johan couldn’t help but snort; nothing about Albus Dumbledore’s wardrobe was conservative, and his long, red hair and beard only added to the colorful effect. “Albus, your style stands out in our world, I do not know why you thought you would blend in better among muggles.”

 “Well, yes.” Albus gave a proud smile as he looked down at his current outfit (bright yellow robes embroidered with leaves in shades of green and blue flowers). “Since your mother was a muggle, I thought you would be more suited to delivering this letter.”

 Johan thought about it. From Harry Potter’s memories, Tom Riddle grew up into a very dangerous individual, however he did not want to judge a child based on his future self’s actions. It would probably be a good idea to meet him and get a current read on his personality. His Hufflepuff sense of fair play insisted on giving the child a chance. “Sure, I’ll deliver it early tomorrow. Is there anything else I should know?”

 Albus handed over Tom Riddle’s letter of acceptance and other paperwork with a grateful (and relieved) smile. He also handed over a plumb leather pouch that jingled. “Mrs. Cole, the matron of the orphanage, has agreed to see me the day after tomorrow, so if you could hold off on your visit, that would be better. Since he is living in an orphanage, you will have to make it clear to him that he will have to hide who he is. Also, as an orphan with no financial resources, he qualifies for a Hogwarts scholarship. Part of delivering the letter is taking him to Diagon Alley and informing him on how to get on the Hogwarts Express.” With that, Albus said his goodbyes and left Johan to his snack.


	3. Wool’s Orphanage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johan meets Tom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stuff in Italics are word for word taken from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Chapter 13: The Secret Riddle.

 On the morning of July 26, 1938, Johan made his way to Wool’s Orphanage, a _grim, square building_ _surrounded by high railings_ that housed fifty-some orphans of both genders, though that number varied widely from month to month. Johan was dressed in a simple suit and button-down shirt, with a cooling charm to keep him comfortable. _He mounted the few steps leading to the front door and knocked once._ _After a moment or two, the door was opened by a scruffy girl wearing an apron._

_"Good afternoon. I have an appointment with a Mrs. Cole, who, I believe, is the matron here?"_

 “Yes, sir.” Said the frazzled looking girl – apparently, caring for orphans was a tiring job. _"Um. . . just a mo' . . . MRS. COLE!" she bellowed over her shoulder._

 Johan _heard a distant voice shouting something in response. The girl turned back to_ him. _"Come in, she's on 'er way."_

 Johan _stepped into a hallway tiled in black and white; the whole place was shabby but spotlessly clean. Before the front door had closed behind them, a skinny, harassed-looking woman came scurrying toward them. She had a sharp-featured face that appeared more anxious than unkind, and she was talking over her shoulder to another aproned helper as she walked toward_ Johan _._

 _". . . and take the iodine upstairs to Martha, Billy Stubbs has been picking his scabs and Eric Whalley's oozing all over his sheets -- chicken pox on top of everything else," she said to nobody in particular_ before turning her attention to Johan. “Good afternoon, young man. I am Mrs. Cole. What is your business at our orphanage today?”

 _"Good afternoon," said_ Johan _, holding out his hand_ which Mrs. Cole shook. _"My name is_ Johan Tufts and I am here as a substitute for Albus Dumbledore _._ He _sent you a letter requesting an appointment and you very kindly invited_ him _here today._ Unfortunately, something came up and he asked me to step in. I hope that is fine with you?”

 “Of course, that is fine. Please follow me to my office.” _She led_ Johan _into a small room that seemed part sitting room, part office. It was as shabby as the hallway and the furniture was old and mismatched. She invited_  Johan _to sit on a rickety chair and seated herself behind a cluttered desk, eyeing him_ curiously _._

 _"I am here, as_ Dumbledore _told you in_ his _letter, to discuss Tom Riddle and arrangements for his future," said_ Johan _._

 “Is Mr. Dumbledore related to Tom?” _asked Mrs. Cole._

 _"No,_ both he and I are teachers _," said_ Johan _. "I have come to offer Tom a place at_ our _school."_

_"What school's this, then?"_

_"It is called Hogwarts," said_ Johan _._

_"And how come you're interested in Tom?"_

_"We believe he has qualities we are looking for."_

_"You mean he's won a scholarship? How can he have done? He's never been entered for one."_

_"Well, his name has been down for our school since birth --"_

_"Who registered him? His parents?"_

_There was no doubt that Mrs. Cole was an inconveniently sharp woman._ Johan slipped _his wand out of the pocket of his suit, at the same time picking up a piece of perfectly blank paper from Mrs. Cole's desktop._

 _"Here," said_ Johan _, waving his wand once as he passed her the piece of paper, "I think this will make everything clear.”_

_Mrs. Cole's eyes slid out of focus and back again as she gazed intently at the blank paper for a moment._

_"That seems perfectly in order," she said placidly, handing it back._

_"Er -- may I offer you a glass of_ water _?"_ She asked _._

 “No, thank you. May I speak to Tom? I need to take him shopping for his school supplies.” He did not need to ask about Tom Riddle since Harry Potter’s memories showed him what she would say.

_"He's definitely got a place at your school, you say?"_

_"Definitely," said_ Johan _._

_"You'll be taking him away, whatever?"_

_"Whatever," repeated_ Johan _gravely._

 _She squinted at him as though deciding whether or not to trust him. Apparently she decided she could, because she_ nodded her head. “Alright, then.”

 _She led him out of her office and up the stone stairs, calling out instructions and admonitions to helpers and children as she passed. The orphans,_ Johan _saw, were all wearing the same kind of grayish tunic. They looked reasonably well-cared for, but there was no denying that this was a grim place in which to grow up._

_"Here we are," said Mrs. Cole, as they turned off the second landing and stopped outside the first door in a long corridor. She knocked twice and entered._

_"Tom? You've got a visitor. This is Mr. Tufts. He's come to tell you -- well, I'll let him do it."_

 Johan _entered the room, and Mrs. Cole closed the door on them. It was a small bare room with nothing in it except an old wardrobe_ , a well-used desk with a hard wooden chair, _and an iron bedstead. A boy was sitting on top of the gray blankets, his legs stretched out in front of him, holding a book._

 There was no denying that Tom Riddle was a handsome boy, _tall for eleven years old, dark-haired, and pale. His_ brown _eyes_ focused on Johan and studied him closely. _There was a moment's silence._

 _"How do you do, Tom?" said_ Johan _, walking forward and holding out his hand. "I am Professor Tufts."_

_"'Professor'?" repeated Riddle. He looked wary. "Is that like 'doctor'? What are you here for? Did she get you in to have a look at me?" He was pointing at the door through which Mrs. Cole had just left._

_"No, no," said_ Johan with a blank face. Tom would not appreciate his pity.

 _"I don't believe you," said Riddle. "She wants me looked at, doesn't she? Tell the truth!" He spoke the last three words with a ringing force that was almost shocking. It was a command, and it sounded as though he had given it many times before. His eyes had widened and he was glaring at_ Johan _, who made no response except to_ give him a stern look _. After a few seconds Riddle stopped glaring, though he looked, if anything, warier still._

_"Who are you?"_

_"I have told you. My name is Professor_ Tufts _and I work at a school called Hogwarts. I have come to offer you a place at my school – your new school, if you would like to come."_

 _Riddle's reaction to this was_ , to Johan, predictable _. He leapt from the bed and backed away from_ Johan _, looking furious._

 _"You can't kid me! The asylum, that's where you're from, isn't it? 'Professor,' yes, of course -- well, I'm not going, see? That old cat's the one who should be in the asylum. I never did anything to little Amy Benson or Dennis Bishop, and you can ask them, they'll tell you!_ ”

 Having given up on talking to Tom, Johan took out his wand and transfigures the chair into a comfortable, cherry wood and dark leather arm-chair. He took a seat before looking at Tom to see his reaction.

 Tom Riddle was gaping. His mouth was open so wide, it nearly reached his chest, and his eyes were as round as saucers.

_"I know that you are not mad. Hogwarts is not a school for mad people. It is a school of magic."_

_There was silence. Riddle had frozen, his face expressionless, but his eyes were flickering back and forth between_ Johan and his wand _, as though trying to catch_ onto the trick _._

_"Magic?" he repeated in a whisper._

_"That's right," said_ Johan _._

_"It's. . . it's magic, what I can do?"_

 Johan thought about asking him what he could do, but decided against it, especially since, thanks to Harry Potter’s memories, he was well aware of what Tom was capable of even at this young age. “Yes.”

 “Magic.” Tom breathed. _A flush of excitement was rising up his neck into his hollow cheeks; he looked fevered. His legs were trembling. He stumbled forward and sat down on the bed again, staring at his hands, his head bowed as though in prayer. "I knew I was different," he whispered to his own quivering fingers. "I knew I was special. Always, I knew there was something."_

 _"Well, you were quite right," said_ Johan almost carelessly. _"You are a wizard."_

_Riddle lifted his head. His face was transfigured: There was a wild happiness upon it, yet for some reason it did not make him better looking; on the contrary, his finely carved features seemed somehow rougher, his expression almost bestial._

_"Are you a wizard too?"_

 “I had better be, otherwise my owning a wand would be highly illegal.” Johan smirked at Tom. The poor boy was so astonished by what he had just realized, he had completely disregarded Johan’s obvious (and showy) transfiguration. _"If, as I take it, you are accepting your place at Hogwarts--"_

_"Of course I am!"_

_"Then you will address me as 'Professor' or 'sir.'"_

_Riddle's expression hardened for the most fleeting moment before he said, in an unrecognizably polite voice, "I'm sorry, sir.”_

 Johan grinned. “I was joking, no need to be so formal. Most of my students actually call me Tufty! But, I would advise you to be more respectful and formal when talking to the other professors. They are stricter than I.”

 Tom gave Johan an annoyed look, though he quickly hid it. _Then, his expression greedy, he pointed at the wand. "Where can I get one of them?"_

 “You buy it, from Diagon Alley, along with your other school supplies.”

 _"I haven't got any money,"_ Tom _said baldly,_

 “Do not worry,” Johan said, _drawing a leather money-pouch from his pocket. "There is a fund at Hogwarts for those who require assistance to buy books and robes. You might have to buy some of your spellbooks and so on secondhand, but-"_ Here, Johan paused. Tom was a shoo-in for Slytherin and therefore would be ill-treated if he were to attend school with second hand belongings. “Well, are you ready to go school shopping? _I have your list of books and school equipment with me. I can help you find everything --"_

 _"You're coming with me?" asked Riddle_ with an almost imperceptible frown _._

_"Certainly, if you-"_

_"I don't need you," said Riddle. "I'm used to doing things for myself, I go round London on my own all the time. How do you get to this Diagon Alley -_ Tufty _?" he added,_ looking pained at having to say the ridiculous name.

 Johan gave Tom a sharp look and an even sharper response. “Nice try, boyo, but there is no way I am letting an eleven-year old take their first trip to Diagon Alley alone. Hags, vampires, and the like are not the fairy tales that the muggles make them out to be. They can be found in magical areas and would love to come across an unaccompanied pretty boy like you. Now, are you ready or do you need to change?”

 Tom apparently knew a lost cause when he saw one, and he visibly flinched at Johan’s insinuation. Living in an orphanage had made Tom well aware of the darker aspects of human nature. “I am ready…Tufty.” Again, Tom had to force himself to say that name.

 Oh, what fun Johan will have pulling baby Voldemort’s strings. The boy obviously had an exaggerated sense of importance and needed to be – gently – disabused of the notion that he was magic’s gift to the world. Johan had to forcefully prevent himself from practicing his evil laugh.


	4. A New Start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics are direct quotations from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Chapter 13: The Secret Riddle. At the end, there is an explanation of magical economy.

 After letting Mrs. Cole know that Tom and he were leaving the orphanage for the rest of the day, Johan lead Tom out the door and to a quiet side street, explaining the Knight Bus along the way. Johan stood on the edge of the sidewalk and held his wand out, summoning the famous (or infamous, depending on who you ask) transportation service. Tom did not enjoy the ride.

 Johan spent their time on the bus _telling_ Tom _exactly how to get to the Leaky Cauldron from the orphanage. "You will be able to see it, although Muggles around you – non-magical people, that is – will not. Ask for Tom the barman – easy enough to remember, as he shares your name-"_

 Tom _gave an irritable twitch, as though trying to displace an irksome fly._

_"You dislike the name 'Tom'?"_

_"There are a lot of Toms," muttered Riddle. Then, as though he could not suppress the question, as though it burst from him in  spite of himself, he asked, "Was my father a wizard? He was called Tom Riddle too, they've told me."_

 Johan decided this was a great opportunity to teach Tom that being a wizard did not magically erase your faults (no pun intended). Johan subtly cast a muffliato before speaking.  “No, actually. Your father was pure muggle. It is unfortunate that, due to how small the magical community is, and how certain families are very prejudiced against muggles, a lot of inbreeding happens in the wizarding world. This has led to some families suffering from birth defects that affect the physical, mental, and magical stability of their children. Your mother was a victim of such practices. Her family line was so prejudiced, they married each other – first cousins – for generations. Merope, your mother, was not a great looker, being slightly hunchbacked and with two lazy-eyes, and she was so weak magically, she could barely hold a wand. She was a squib, a non-magical child born to magical parents. Your father looked a lot like you, and she loved him. So she brewed a love potion and drugged him into laying with her. When he found out, he was understandably very angry and ran away. To this day, he hates anything to do with magic.”

 “I am the result of rape.” Tom said slowly, looking perturbed by the realization.

 “Essentially, yes.” Johan again made sure to hide any trace of pity. “You are not to be held accountable for your parent’s actions, but you must also be careful. Children resulting from love potions often suffer negative side-effects. Nothing a few strong cleansing rituals cannot help, but it is still highly discouraged to conceive children while under the influence of most potions.”

 “But if she hadn’t been a squib _, she wouldn't have died,"_ Tom stated confidently. 

 “Not necessarily. Magic demands its own price. She used magic to steal your father’s genes to make you, and paid with her life. The effort it took to support you through a full pregnancy took everything she had. It was either your life or hers, and she chose you.”

 This caused Tom to be silent for the rest of the ride to the Leaky Cauldron.

* * *

 

 The Leaky Cauldron was as shabby as always, though busier than it had been in Harry Potter’s memories. Johan quickly lead Tom to the entrance of Diagon Alley. A witch had already opened the way so Johan did not have the opportunity to show Tom how to get in. This may have been for the best since Johan did not want Tom to be able to get in on his own just yet. Johan grabbed Tom’s shoulder and started steering him through Diagon Alley.

 “Now, first thing is those cleansing rituals I mentioned. I do not know what you thought you were doing, using your magic to hurt others, but that has only worsened your already murky aura.” Johan had no talent whatsoever at reading auras, but knowing Tom, he could make accurate guesses.

 Tom himself seemed half affronted, half scared. “I don’t know what y-“

 Johan pushed Tom (cutting him off in the process) into a shop that advertised curse breaking services. He then turned Tom to face him and said very slowly and very clearly. “I had thought you intelligent. Growing up surrounded by muggles has caused you to severely over-estimate yourself and your abilities. Whatever power you may have, remember that every magical shares and may even surpass. Even when you get your wand, the only thing you could use it for right now is poking someone’s eye out. You are a child, ignorant of your heritage, surrounded by others who had been steeped in magic all their lives. Even the idiotic ones know more about the should’s and should-nots of magic than you.” Johan leaned in close to Tom to emphasize the next part. “Just as punching someone’s face will bruise your knuckles and slapping them will sting your hand, magic is not free. Every magical act you perform will demand a price **from you** and leave a mark **on you**. I do not need to ask what you used your magic for because I can sense it on you, as can anyone who cares to pay attention.” With that Johan straightened and turned to greet the owner of the shop, who had just come out of the back.

 “Johan! I haven’t seen you for a while. How is teaching treating you?” Simon had been the curse breaker that Johan hired to help him with Nono’s attic. He was a jolly, active wizard with a passion for old artifacts. Like other curse breakers before him, he chose to retire well before reaching the usual retirement age for witches and wizards (which was 100 years).

 “Well, very well. Matter of fact, I just finalized my lesson plans for the upcoming year. I would like to introduce you to Tom, who is in vital need of your services.” With this Johan motioned Tom forward to accept the handshake Simon was offering.

 “How do you do, sir.”

 “Hello there, lad. My, what have you been up to.” Tom was pulled close and subjected to intense scrutiny, much to his annoyance. Simon, it seemed, was talented at aura reading.

 “It’s not his fault, really. He’s descended from the Gaunts, and you know how they are.” Johan was quick to defend Tom; he did not want him to feel ostracized from others and had hoped that seeing Simon, a powerful, knowledgeable wizard who’d lived an exciting life without dipping into darker magics, would inspire Tom to do the same.

 “Well, fault is not the issue here. Come on to the back, the sooner we do this, the better for his magical health.”

* * *

The cleansing session took an hour, and Simon only allowed them to leave once Johan had promised to bring Tom back the next day for a stronger cleansing. Looking at Tom’s face, Johan lead him to Fortesque’s parlor for a much needed treat.

Tom seemed to be in a daze, and even after they sat down at a table to eat their sundaes, e he was barely aware of what he was doing. Johan let him be for now; if Tom did not snap out of it by the time he finished eating, he’ll try to talk some sense into him.

However, Tom was able to get back to himself with time to spare. “What – what was wrong with me? What is wrong with me?”

Johan cast another muffliato before answering. “Your magic had gone bad and was slowly destroying you from the inside, like a cancer. It lowered your inhibitions when it came to your negative emotions, making you angrier, meaner, more callous. Do you know what a psychopath is?”

“Someone with abnormal or violent social behavior. Usually, they are criminals, and people call them monsters.” [AN: This is the 1930’s common understanding of psychopathy, modern day psychologists may not agree.]

“Yes. That was what your infected magic was shaping you to be, with the added bonus of a sadistic streak. It’s not your fault, but you still have to deal with the consequences. Hopefully, the cleansing sessions will heal you, though you may have to keep having them done for the rest of your life. You should also do your best to stay away from magic that requires negative emotions on your part.”

“I can’t pay, and Mrs. Cole won’t let me keep coming here. If I told her it was for a doctor, she’ll have an excuse to throw me out.” Tom, whether from the cleansing session, or just from the constant surprises of the day, was feeling very small and _weak_ and vulnerable. He hated feeling like this, and hated even more that someone was witnessing this. Thankfully, he’d trained himself from a young age to not cry, otherwise his eyes would already be leaking.

Johan sat back and thought about it. Remembering Harry Potter’s childhood and how he’d wished for someone, anyone, to offer him an alternative to the Dursley’s. Johan had a home, with an extra bedroom already decorated for a boy, though one older than Tom, but he was mature for his age. He would probably appreciate Johan’s old books (textbooks as well as adventure books and everything in between) and his chess set. He could shrink his old clothes to fit Tom, and it would only be for the summers. The cottage was in Hogsmeade, nowhere near muggles, and Tom was independent, he wouldn’t need much supervision. Johan was by no means interested in raising a child, but he was willing to provide a safe haven for someone in need; he was a Hufflepuff, after all.

“I promised Simon I would bring you tomorrow. I would not offer this to most, but I do feel responsible for you. You could spend the rest of the summer with me, before going off to Hogwarts. Yo-“

“I don’t need you pity!” Tom stated coldly, with a freezing look.

“It is not pity. You, and your murky magic, are trouble. I need to keep an eye on you until you heal, otherwise how would I know you are not terrorizing the children in the orphanage?”

“I’m only protecting myself!”

“If someone comes at you with their fist, there is no need for you to bring out a canon, which is what is happening when you use your magic. You could just as easily have ordered them to leave you alone, instead of hurting them.” Johan gave Tom a stern look (he was full of them, wasn’t he?) and held out his wand. “This is a gun, a canon, a knife, a whip, a torch, and anything else you can think of. All of us are given a powerful weapon at the age of eleven, and are trusted to minimize the amount of damage we do with it. There are no excuses, no second chances in the wizarding world. Misusing magic the way you were will get you a life sentence in a prison guarded by soul sucking wraiths, and I am not exaggerating. If keeping you under my constant supervision is the only way to ensure you will not go around abusing this privilege, then I will do what is necessary. Now, I have an extra bedroom in my cottage, are you interested?”

* * *

 

After they had both finished their ice cream, Johan remembered to hand over to Tom his Hogwarts letter. “This is your official letter of acceptance to Hogwarts, and with it is a list of supplies, a train ticket to the Hogwarts express, as well as instruction regarding how to get on. This,” Johan handed Tom a leather pouch heavy with coin, “is your scholarship money, to be used to buy your school supplies. Since I have decided to take responsibility for you, you will not receive further financial aid from Hogwarts. Instead, I will provide you with anything you may need.” Johan stopped and gave Tom a pointed look.

Tom _, had taken the heavy money bag without thanking_ Johan _, and was now examining a fat gold Galleon._ He eventually noticed Johan’s silence, and seeing his pointed look, gave a grudging “Thank you,” before going back to counting his coins. He had twenty-five fat gold coins.

Johan nodded, and continued. “That coin is called a galleon, and it is worth seventeen sickles, which are slightly smaller, silver coins. A sickle is worth twenty-nine knuts, which are small, bronze coins. A galleon, in muggle currency, is worth two shillings.”

With that, Tom began his first wizarding shopping experience, as well as his first experience shopping with a decent amount of money in his pocket. 

* * *

 

**Wizarding Currency and Pricing**

It is often pointed out that Wizarding economy as explained by Rowling makes little sense, and for that reason I am going to outline my rules for the economy. The rules I am presenting will be based on 2016 money, so when I say 1 pound sterling, I am talking about the purchasing power that 1 pound sterling has in 2016 (approximately equal to the purchasing power of 0.02 pound sterling in 1938). The purchasing power of wizarding currency does not change because the goblins keep it constant. As such, it is only the exchange rate of muggle to wizarding currency that changes over time.

PS = Pound Sterling GBP

 

Canon economic rules I am keeping:

First, 1 galleon = 17 sickles = 493 knuts.

Second, 1 galleon = 0.098PS in 1938 = 4.93PS in 1991 = 10.30PS in 2016.

Wands cost 7 galleons.

 

Rules I am making up:

Average daily wage = 10 galleons = 103PS in 2016 -> this is lower than what muggles make, but the wizarding world is slightly cheaper due to magic powering their production process.

Basically, the price level is on average a third lower than in the muggle economy. The difference is much greater in some sectors (example: housing and real-estate), while in other sectors there is very little difference (example: vehicles and other transportation methods).

A galleon has a small seed of gold in the very middle of it that is valued 9-11PS in 2016, depending on how the gold market is doing. That means that selling a galleon in the muggle world is not very profitable. However, due to gold not being reproducible by magic (except the Philosopher’s stone), it means that galleons can’t be forged without the forgery being caught via a simple spell that checks for gold. Similarly, sickles and knuts hold tiny amounts of gold, equal to their respective values.

 

Johan’s networth:

Furnished cottage = 10,000 galleons

Savings = 5,000 galleons

Annual Salary = 2,500 galleons

Other (clothing, broom, books, etc.) = 1,500 galleons

Total = 19,000 galleons = 195,700PS in 2016.

 

Cost of school supplies:

In the UK in recent years, parents spend approximately 250PS outfitting their kids for school not including uniforms. This is about 16 galleons when you take the 33% decrease in price level into account. UK school uniforms are approximately 96PS in 2014. Again, with the 33% decrease in price levels, this rounds to 9 galleons.

Both UK estimates are from the article “Cost of kitting out kids for school hits £240 per child – totalling £2.5bn” by Rebecca Smithers posted on The Guardian website on Aug 28, 2014. (Yes, that’s how they spelled totaling, which Microsoft word tells me is incorrect).

Wands cost an additional 7 galleons.

This totals to 32 galleons if you buy everything new.

As a scholarship student, Tom would receive a stipend of 25 galleons, which means he would have to buy some things second hand (though, it is advised, not his wand).

 


	5. Shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anything in Italics is quoted from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Chapter 5: Diagon Alley, though it may be moved around some.

 Johan didn't give Tom time to ask more questions. "You ready to start shopping?"

 Their first stop was Turbin's Quality Robes, where Tom allowed himself to be measured and be pinned into robes, while Johan talked to the tailor.

 "He'll need the Hogwarts set, but also two very fine robes, three good quality shirts, two good quality pants, two everyday robes, two every day pants, three everyday shirts, two sleeping robes, full set of undergarments - socks, undershirts, etc. – and make the color scheme- Tom, what colors do you want?"

 "Not grey." Tom replied as he kept his eye on the witch currently putting pins into the sample robe on him.

 "How about black, navy, and white, with silver and gold accents?"  Tom only nodded. Johan did not actually have anything resembling a fashion sense, but he figured choosing conservative colors wouldn't go too badly, and Tom was at the age where he'd have to replace his clothing soon anyway. Which reminded him. "He looks like he'll shoot up like a weed in the coming year, so add some room to grow into everything. Is that alright?"

 "Yes, Professor, we can most definitely fill your order, though it will be a week for delivery." The owner of the shop had been busy writing down Johan's orders and now looked up at him with a questioning look.

 "That's fine. Owl them to my home, I live in Hogmeade village. I'll pay the bill now, though."

 “That will be twenty-one galleons and three sickles.”

 Turns out Tom was paying closer attention to the conversation Johan was having with the shop owner than Johan knew, because at the bill total he immediately turned to Johan with an accusing look. Johan only gave him a reassuring smile before pulling money out of his own money pouch and handing it to the shop owner.

 It was another ten minutes before all of Tom’s measurements were taken (including his head measurements for his school hat). Thankfully, Tom was wise enough to wait until they had left the shop before speaking. “If you keep ordering these things for me, then you can keep paying, because I won’t have enough money for what I need otherwise.” Blunt, abrasive, and to the point. If Johan had been anyone else, he would have been insulted, but he knew Tom better than most- actually, he knew Tom better than anyone else. The more Tom respected you, the less graceful his conversation. Tom was speaking to him as someone he feared/respected, and not as a potential victim he needed to entrance.

 “As I said before, I am taking responsibility for you. This mean that I will foot the bill for this shopping spree, and a similar one every year. The money currently in your pouch is your spending money for the year, so use it wisely. Shall we continue?” Johan stopped in front of a shop advertising bags, pouches, and other luggage, and gestured for Tom to get in ahead of him.

 One of the shop assistants noticed them immediately and made her way over to them. “Good morning, my name is Tiffany, how may I help you today?”

 Johan smiled and put a hand on Tom’s shoulder. “Hello, we need a trunk and a school bag for Hogwarts.”

 “I might have guessed! Our Hogwarts standard fare is right this way. You can have extras, like feather-light and unbreakable charms added in, but for a first year that shouldn’t be necessary.” So saying she turned to the area immediately to the left of the shop entrance, where trunks of similar size but varying colors were stacked. On the wall beside them was a good selection of school bags.

 “The standard ones should be fine. They need to be sturdy enough to last him all seven years, and the price is not a concern.” Johan said to Tiffany before turning to Tom. “See anything you like?”

 As Tom went to have a closer look at the merchandise, Tiffany gave a practiced spiel on the items he spent more time on. After ten minutes of this, Tom went back to a black and silver trunk, one of the largest there. According to Tiffany, it was very good quality (with the price to match) and was known to be favored by the more well-to-do students. Tom also chose a matching black leather school bag with silver fastenings. The bag had two large pockets, and a smaller outer pockets on each side. The total cost was twelve galleons.

 After the luggage shop, their next stop was the apothecary, where Tom could buy a basic potions kit for a galleon. Per Johan’s advice, Tom bought two so that he could start practicing at home, and also so he would have extra ingredients during the school year just in case.

 Next was a shop that specialized in goods made from the hides of magical creatures. There they bought a pair of dragon leather gloves (black). They also bought dragon leather boots in an adult male’s size that Johan shrunk to fit Tom. Johan was not poor, but he was also not the type to like waste. Dragon leather was very, _very_ durable and could last decades without need for repair – Johan was not going to waste it on a pair of boots that Tom would outgrow in a matter of months. Instead, buying a pair of adult boots and shrinking them meant that Tom would use those boots for a long time. Shrinking items was easier on an object than enlarging it, which caused it to wear down faster. Johan (or Tom, once he was older) would just slowly reduce the intensity of the shrinking spell as Tom’s feet grew.

 “I don’t even need dragon hide boots!” Tom complained once they finally left the shop, having spent ten galleons there.

 “If you do not understand why you need them by the second week of school, I will explain my reasoning to you.” Johan said while steering Tom towards Wiseacre’s Wizarding Equipment, a shop with cauldrons almost bursting out of it. There, they purchased a pewter, standard size 2 cauldron, a set of crystal vials (more durable than glass, important since potions equipment could not be charmed unbreakable due to the chance of the spell’s magic reacting with potions), a set of brass scales, and a telescope. The total cost for these items was eight galleons.

 So far, Johan had spent fifty-three galleons and three sickles on Tom. They still had other shops to get to before Tom would be ready for Hogwarts.

 Their next stop was a stationary store that sold parchment, quills, and ink among other things. Tom placed three rolls of parchment (a hundred feet each) in the handy shopping baskets the shop provided and, on Johan’s insistence, six of what looked like books with the inside paper ripped out.

 “What are they for?” Tom asked as he flipped a handsome red velvet one this way and that.

 “They keep your school work organized. Here, look,” Johan took a scrap piece of parchment that was used to test ink colors off of a nearby holder and placed it inside the book cover, with one edge against the inside of the book cover’s spine. Immediately, the edge adhered to the spine, as if it had always been there [AN: basically, a magical version of binders]. “You take notes and do your homework on parchment, and then file it away in here to study from later. They keep the parchments organized and in good condition, better than just stuffing them in your bag or trunk. You buy six because, as a first year, you will have six subjects. In third year, you will have the option to take more classes. If you want to take a page out, you simply run your fingertip against the attached edge,” Johan suited his actions to his words, removing the scrap piece of parchment, “like so. I call them organizers, but you can call them whatever you want. They are a Roman invention, so obviously British wizards are less likely to use them. What do you think?”

 “Smart.” Tom continued studying the organizers. “Well, the organizers, I mean, and the one who invented them. Not the British wizards; it seems like the distrust of anything foreign is shared between the magical and non-magical communities. How do they work?”

 “There are runes, tiny ones, inscribed on the spine, and then spelled to be illegible. That way, rune masters such as I still have to purchase them instead of making our own.” Johan and Tom shared a knowing look as Tom placed the organizer with his other items in the basket.

 Next, they came to the quills. Again, Tom referred to Johan’s judgement when choosing what to put in his basket.

 “Quills are still used in the magical world for a variety of reasons. One is that they help prepare students for the specialized tools used in carving runes, though not every student chooses to study ancient runes. Another reason is that quills are better at holding magic, meaning it is easy to charm them to be anti-cheating or spell-checking. The final reason is that, in a pinch, powerful witches and wizards can use them as a magical focus, similar to wands but much weaker. All wands have a core that comes from a magical creature, and some of them are feathers, such as phoenix feathers. However, the quills you are buying are so magically weak, they are barely a step above going completely wandless, especially since most of these don’t even come from magical creatures.”

 “I want one that does come from a magical creature.” Tom stated even as he started looking closer at the selection of quills in front of him.

 Johan chuckled. “Of course you do, but you are getting more than one quill. You should have several good quality quills, preferably self-inking, and a few standard quills that you would not mind lending to others if pressed. You may choose one quill that comes from a magical creature, and be sure to keep it close and not lose it. They tend to be expensive.”

 Tom nodded his head, and picked up quills as Johan suggested them. He then went to a nearby shelf that had a small (very small) collection of magical creature feathers. There were fwooper feathers, griffin feathers, hippogriff feathers, and a single thunderbird feather. Tom chose the thunderbird feather, which was a silvery blue with golden shimmers. It was the only one of its kind there, and a placard said that its color changes slightly with the weather. It was also the most expensive, costing three galleons.

 Johan had little to say on inks, other than advising Tom that he would need lots. Tom chose to buy three bottles each of black and blue ink, and a bottle each of red, green, and purple ink. Johan notices Tom eyeing a bottle (rather expensive at ten sickles) of color changing ink and picked it up and placed it into Tom’s basket himself, saying, “Trust me, your school work will be boring enough, anything that adds to your interest in it is well worth the investment.”

 In total, their bill at the stationary shop came to five galleons. Then it was off to a quick lunch break before buying Tom a wand.

 Throughout the day, Tom had been placing his purchases in his new trunk, so when they came to Ollivander’s wand shop, Tom and Johan only had the trunk to carry between them. _The shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window._

 _A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that_ Johan _sat on to wait._ There was a feeling as if one _had entered a very strict library;_ Tom carefully made his way to the counter as he _looked at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of his neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic._

 _“Good afternoon,” said a soft voice._ Tom _jumped._ A young _man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop._

 Tom squared his shoulders and did his best to appear calm and collected. “Good afternoon, sir.” He said as smoothly as he was able.

 _“Ah yes,” said the man._ “You have already began using your magic purposefully.” _It wasn’t a question._

 _Ollivander moved closer to_ Tom _._ Tom _wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy._ “It is rare to see a young magical whose magic is so well organized, and shadowed.”

 _Ollivander had come so close that he and_ Tom _were almost nose to nose._ Tom _could see himself reflected in those misty eyes. “And that’s where...” Ollivander touched the_ centre of Tom’s _forehead with a long, white finger_ , exactly where Simon had begun and ended the cleansing ritual _. “I’m sorry to say_ that your aura is somewhat murkier than what I am used to, though I can see you have just undergone a cleansing _,” he said softly._

 _He shook his head and then, to_ Tom’s (secret) _relief, spotted_ Johan _. “_ Johan _!_ Johan Tufts _! How nice to see you again..._ Cedar _, eleven inches, nice and supple*, wasn’t it?”_ [*AN: this is taken out from another part of the same chapter and put here.]

 _“It was, yes_. I am surprised you know that, you were barely able to talk when your father sold it to me. _”_ Johan smiled at the younger man _._ “This is Tom Riddle, muggle raised, but he is from the Gaunt blood line, which should tell you why his magic is so problematic.”

 _“Good wand, that one_ , and thestral hair is a rare core. Father still talks about selling it to you; it’s rare to see thestral hair going to such a young wizard. He would be disappointed to have missed you _._ ” _said Ollivander, giving_ Johan _a piercing look. “Well, now – Mr._ Riddle _. Let me see.” He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. “Which is your wand arm?”_

 _“Er — well, I’m_ left _-handed,” said_ Tom _._ He had been caught up in hearing about Johan’s wand and hadn’t kept as good track of Ollivander as he should have. He pushed his questions to the back of his mind – he could always ask them later.

 _“Hold out your arm. That’s it.” He measured_ Tom _from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said, “Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr._ Riddle _._ I prefer to _use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard’s wand.”_

 Tom tried to pay attention to what Ollivander was saying while also watching _the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, was doing this on its own. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes. “That will do,” he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. “Right then, Mr._ Riddle _. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. just take it and give it a wave.”_ Tom _took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once. “Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try —”_ Tom _tried — but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Ollivander. “No, no — here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out.”_

 Tom _tried. And tried. He had no idea what Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become. “Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we’ll find the perfect match here somewhere — I wonder, now — yes, why not — unusual combination —_ yew _and phoenix feather,_ thirteen _inches,_ slightly rigid _.”_

 Tom _took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and_ silver _sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls._

 Johan chuckled _and clapped and Ollivander cried, “Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well... how curious... how very curious...” He put_ Tom’s _wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, “Curious... curious...”_

 _“Sorry,” said_ Tom _, “but what’s curious?”_

 _Ollivander fixed_ Tom _with his pale stare. “Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember... I think we must expect great things from you, Mr._ Riddle. I just hope I won’t grow to regret selling you that wand.”

 Tom couldn’t help the shiver that went down his body _. He wasn’t sure he_ appreciated _Ollivander too much. He paid seven gold Galleons for his wand, and Ollivander bowed them from his shop. The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as_ Tom _and_ Johan _made their way back down Diagon Alley_ and to the Leaky Cauldron.

 “We didn’t buy my spellbooks.” Tom had, by now, learned to give Johan the benefit of the doubt when it came to school shopping. If he didn’t buy Tom spellbooks, he had a reason not to.

 “No, we did not. I still have my old ones from when I attended Hogwarts, as well as others you will find interesting. You can spend the rest of the week looking through those, and then decide which books you want to buy new. It will also give a better idea of what type of books you want to buy as a start to your own, personal library. I should tell you that Hogwarts library is also very well stocked, so you should take some time to think about what books you want to own and what books you just want to read once.” Johan explained as they reached the Leaky Cauldron’s large fireplace. There, Johan dropped a couple of knuts in a jar before picking up a clay pot full of green powder. “This is floo powder, and it always magical to travel through fireplaces that are connected to the floo network. You simply throw a pinch at the fire, step in, and clearly state the address you are trying to reach. Be careful not to breath in the smoke, as that will cause to choke and mispronounce your words. The address of my cottage is simply ‘Tufts Cottage’.”

 With that, Johan took Tom to his home.

* * *

 

**Johan’s Wand**

Wood: Cedar

From Pottermore - “Whenever I meet one who carries a cedar wand, I find strength of character and unusual loyalty. My father, Gervaise Ollivander, used always to say, ‘you will never fool the cedar carrier,’ and I agree: the cedar wand finds its perfect home where there is perspicacity and perception. I would go further than my father, however, in saying that I have never yet met the owner of a cedar wand whom I would care to cross, especially if harm is done to those of whom they are fond. The witch or wizard who is well-matched with cedar carries the potential to be a frightening adversary, which often comes as a shock to those who have thoughtlessly challenged them.”

Basically, that is who I imagine Johan to be. He has no prophecy hanging over his head, no spiritual journey to undertake, so no holly wand for him. He is powerful, loyal, and shrewd. What Harry Potter could have been without the neglect/abuse, being a horcrux, and the responsibility of saving a country on his shoulder.

 

Core: Thestral hair

From HarryPotterWiki – “Thestral tail hair is also an interesting core - the wand cannot simply be mastered by winning them. It can only be mastered by a witch or wizard who is able to face death, which is why Voldemort struggled to master the Elder Wand.”

Garrick Ollivander’s father used a wider variety of wand cores, including thestral hair. Like Harry Potter, a young Johan would have had no fear of death as he would see it as reuniting with loved ones. He had lived through his parents’ death, and his grandfather would have been sure to gently prepare him for his (Nono’s) own passing. Harry Potter’s horcrux problem impacted his wand core selection in that the horcrux feared death, and it may have been the reason he and Voldemort had the same wand cores. Also, by that point, the variety of wands available would have been much smaller as Garrick’s father would have been long dead.


	6. New Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Johan was born in 1899, which makes him 39 years old in 1938, the year Tom starts Hogwarts. Harry Potter was 49 years old when he fell through the veil.

 Tuft’s Cottage sits where the shrieking shack did in Harry Potter’s memories. It was a warm, airy home, built for a small family. Being a wizarding home, and an old one at that (built in the sixteen hundreds) it was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside, with several enlarged spaces hidden throughout the house. The architect who designed and built the house for herself and her family was in fact a descended of the architect who designed Hogwarts castle. Of course, there was no Rowena Ravenclaw to enchant the staircase to move, or Helga Hufflepuff to convince house-elves to move in, but Aramina Tufts (the architect) took inspiration from Hogwarts, specifically Ravenclaw Tower, when building a home for her family.

 The front door of the cottage opened into a small sitting room with a fireplace (the only one in the cottage). From there, one can take a right to a good sized family room, which took up most of the right side of the main floor, or they could take a left as they enter the home and walk into a formal dining room. The kitchen (large with a breakfast nook) was at the back left corner of the main floor. The back, right corner held a good sized library (an enlarged space) that was used as the family library. The staircase could be accessed from the kitchen.

 The second floor was also divided into four areas. The first a small reading room right of the stair landing. The other three were suites that opened into a shared hallway. Each of the suites contained a bedroom, a bathroom (with magical plumbing, thank you), and a study/library. The stairs went up into the attic, which was an open space used as a work room for a variety of subjects through the generations. Currently, Johan used it for his rune experiments, which included spell creation and enchanting. There was also a basement which housed a general storage area as well as a potions lab, the same lab where the child-safe pain-relief potion was first invented. Throughout the cottage were small, out of the way, expanded spaces, just big enough to make cozy reading nooks or handy storage closets. Tufts children for generation had spent hours exploring the house, trying to find an expanded space that no one had discovered (Aramina had made sure to properly catalogue all eight of these spaces, including the one whose location was only told to the owners of the cottage).

 The seemingly small, two storey cottage was surrounded by a good sized piece of land, slightly isolated from the rest of Hogsmeade village, which meant that it was a favorite place for anyone wanting a bit of peace and quiet.

 Tom, as much as he refused to admit it, loved Tufts Cottage as soon as he stepped out of the fireplace. It was just so opposite of Wool’s orphanage, in every possible way. Primarily, it was the _quiet_ , with no children constantly shouting and running around. It was also the antiques that looked so very well cared for, of the type that Tom had always planned to decorate his own future home (read: manor) with. Beyond that was the magic – the paintings moved, as did the pictures on the magazines spread across a nearby coffee table. There was a feather duster lazily dusting away with no one holding it, and the patterns on the carpet and on the wallpaper kept squiggling around. There was color, nothing was faded or worn out. It was bright, it smelled of old books and wood polish, and Tom felt as if the very walls of the place welcomed him, welcomed his magic. When Johan told him about the magical aspects of the cottage as he lead him to what would be his room, Tom fell even more in love. No muggle manor, no matter how grand, would ever compare to this. This was _home._  

 Johan lead Tom to the two bedroom suites that were on the right side of the house. “That door,” he pointed across the hall to the bedroom on the left side of the house, “leads to my rooms. I would ask that you not enter without my express permission. Respect my privacy and I shall respect yours. Now, these two suites are empty, however, this one here,” he motioned to the door he was standing in front of, “is my old suite, and is traditional used as the room for boys. It is, as you may guess, decorated for boys, and holds many of the items that past generations of Tufts boys found interesting. The other suite is decorated for girls with girl objects, though many of the books and toys overlap. Feel free to take a tour of the two and decide which one you like best.” With that, he gestured for Tom to go ahead.

 After looking through the boy and the girl suite, Tom decided to go with the boy suite. The boy’s suite was decorated in greens and blues while the girl’s was done in soft purples. Also, the boy’s suite had more books and newer toys, which made sense since Johan had no sisters to receive new items and had probably collected some of the books from the other suite.

 After making his selection, Johan helped Tom move in. It was really only his Hogwarts trunk. It was only then that Johan remembered that Mrs. Cole was still expecting Tom to go back to Wool’s. Tom also realized that he had no clothes, and though he hated it, he would need his muggle clothing from Wool’s until his wizarding clothes were delivered. With no choice, Johan side-apparated Tom to an alley near Wool’s before the two made their way into the orphanage.

 Tom ran to pack his things while Johan confounded Mrs. Cole into signing the paperwork necessary for him to adopt Tom. The matron seemed to almost be jumping for joy at Tom’s leaving and did not require much in the way of persuasion.

 Tom and Johan were back at Tufts Cottage barely a half hour after they left, and there was just enough time left in the day for Johan to make the two of them supper. If there was one thing Johan appreciated about having Harry Potter’s memories, it was the additional skills they came with, specifically cooking, something Johan had not devoted much time to before but now found that he enjoyed from time to time. Johan sent Tom of to explore the cottage (after warning him about the dangerous experiments in the attic) and started cooking.

 Tom quickly made his way to his new rooms to put his things away. Not even a week ago the contents of his worn bag were his most precious possessions, things that he valued. Now, he couldn’t wait for his new, _wizarding_ clothes to arrive so that he could throw the muggle rags away. He had not bothered to bring anything other than the bare necessities, leaving most of his collected treasures (the toys he had stolen from other children at the orphanage, for example) behind. All he had brought were his pajamas and two extra outfits, just enough clothes to last him the week, so it did not take him long to put them away in his new wardrobe.

 As soon as he was done with that, Tom decided to take a closer look at his rooms, starting with the study. If a person were entering it from the hallway they would see a good sized window in the opposite wall with an ornate wooden desk and chair under it. The room was thirteen feet squared and acted as a study and receiving room. The wall on the right had two doors leading from it, while the wall on the left was covered in floor to ceiling bookshelves. In the middle was a small seating area with two smallish love seats and a coffee table.

 The door that was closer to the desk led to the bedroom, which held a double size bed with an ornate bedframe that matched the desk and chair in the study. On either side were matching night stands, and Johan had previously set Tom’s school trunk at the foot of the bed. The bed was facing the door as well as an armoire that took up much of the wall. There was a window with a window seat in the wall to the left of the door.

 The second door lead to his bathroom, which while small, was still more luxurious than he was used to.

 The bookshelves in the study were not empty, and were in fact slightly less than half full. Many of the books were for children, adventure books, fairy tales, and basic primers for the subjects he would be learning at Hogwarts. However, there were also the spellbooks that Johan had used during his own time at Hogwarts, which had hand written notes from him that explained or expanded on what the books said. Tom set these aside as priority reading, starting with transfiguration, which looked to be the most complicated. There were also more advanced books on magical history, culture, theory, and education. Hogwarts: a history was one such book, but there was also a book that compared magical education across the world, and an encyclopedia of famous Hufflepuffs and their contributions to magical Britain. Tom was most surprised to find three shelves that seemed to be dedicated to non-magical subjects – maths, literature, science, philosophy, and poetry. He would have to ask Johan why he would want to read such books.

 Next, Tom looked through the desk, which at first glance had two drawers. However, once Tom found a hidden compartment in one of the drawers, he checked the desk more thoroughly and was able to find two secret drawers that opened on either side. There was nothing of interest in the drawers, just blank parchment and a few quills.

 After finding nothing else of interest in the study, Tom moved on to his bedroom. He already knew that the armoire had a space expansion charm on it, but it wouldn’t hurt to check it for hidden compartments. It had three, two of which housed a collection of pentagon shaped cards with witches and wizards on them (chocolate frog cards). None of the other furniture held hidden compartments, but there was secret door hidden in the wall beside the window that opened into a small reading nook, barely big enough for a comfortable armchair and a side table. Tom found nothing hidden in his bathroom, but he wasn’t very disappointed over that; he had already found plenty elsewhere.

* * *

 

 Dinner was simple, just a green salad, pasta, and garlic bread. Tom was not used to food with that much flavor (though he liked it) or being able to eat as much as he wanted, though Johan was quick to warn him of the dangers of over eating. Johan also told him other things.

 "I usually run an obstacle course I have set up in the back yard; it's fun and keeps me in shape. I can remove the magical obstacles and let you run through it a few times if you are interested. As a magical, it is very easy to become lazy and get into the habit of not being physically active. This is ill-advised as a healthy body promotes a healthy mind and improves your magical endurance as well as your instincts."

 "Most of the people we saw in Diagonal Alley looked slim, or at least I would not call them fat." 

 "Well, of course not. Magic requires fuel just like physical activity, it just does not tone your body, does not build up physical endurance and leaves your body weak. I have met many powerful wizards who, if not for pepper up potions, would die of a simple flu because their body is just not used to doing without magic. Relying on something to exclusion of everything else, even magic, is just asking for disaster."

 “But magic is wonderful, it makes us special! Why would I do something the non-magical way if I can do it with magic?” The words burst out of Tom, who had not even realized how frustrating he found Johan’s lack of respect for magic.

 “Having an opposable thumb makes humanoids special, but you don’t see me walking on my hands like an ape. The problem with wizards and witches is they look at muggles and feel so superior because they have magic, and while that is not bad in itself, it leads them to be very lazy. Look how much muggles improved in the last century and compare that to magicals. Muggles are already trying to figure out ways to visit other planets while wizards can barely bring themselves to look beyond their own borders. Magic is wonderful, but so is physical ability, ingenuity, and the drive to improve.”

 “But I do have all those and magic!”

 “Yes, exactly, and I don’t want you to lose them. A mind like yours is rare, and I do not want you wasting it because you think having magic is enough. You are intelligent Tom, and part of being intelligent is doing what unintelligent people cannot.”

 With a blank face, Tom went back to eating his dinner. Sometimes, Johan was not worth arguing with. Who was he to tell Tom what to do? Tom was exceptional, yes, but that meant that others should acknowledge that and be grateful that he allowed them to breath the same air as him. It did not mean _he_ had to do anything!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notice Johan is spending way more than 32 galleons on Tom, but he is also buying above average quality items on top of non-school items. Tom's trunk and school bag cost almost twice what most students would pay and his order from the robe shop is way more than just three Hogwarts' uniforms.


	7. First Steps

 It didn't take Tom long to decide to use Johan's old school books instead of buying new ones; not only was the material the same, and the books in good condition, but they were also full of additional notes and explanations that made them more informative. Johan had also gone and added references to other material he had found in Hogwarts' library at the end of some of the sections. Tom went through the rest of the books in his study as well as in the family library to see what topics were not covered. After generations of Tufts adding books that suited their varied interests, there really wasn't much that wasn't covered. In the end, Tom decided to put off buying any books until he read enough to make a list of books he wanted but were not available to him. 

 This did not mean that Tom spent all his summer reading, not at all. Matter of fact, he only read for a few hours a day. His early mornings were spent with Johan on the obstacle course, where Johan taught him about some non-magical ways to avoid magical traps. Tom was also improving his endurance and raising his overall fitness level, which he noticed had the added benefit of making his Magic easier to access, even wandlessly. After the obstacle course, they would wash up, and Johan would teach Tom magical housekeeping, which Tom participated in only because Johan allowed him to use his wand for cleaning spells. One afternoon a week was spent with Simon, where Tom underwent cleansing rituals. The other afternoons were spent learning magical culture, history, and theory from Johan, things that most purebloods grew up knowing. Johan also taught Tom meditation and its benefits, which further helped him to undo the damage his poisoned magic had caused him. Mentally and emotionally, Tom was improving; he would always be manipulative with certain callous tendencies, but he no longer felt the need to cause others pain or prove his power and control over them. 

 Every step of the way, every fact or explanation provided by Johan was double checked by Tom researching the topic. Slowly, Tom started to trust in Johan's knowledge of magic, but Johan was quick to praise his need to do his own research and reach his own conclusions. Johan even started to not give Tom knowledge but instead give him a topic he hoped to discuss with him later and send him off to research. In that way, Tom's knowledge and understanding of the magical world continued to grow and covered a variety of topics, including the various idiosyncrasies of the magical world.

 Johan was very pleased with his new ward's progress. While Tom was still headed for Slytherin, that in itself was not a bad thing. Johan had made sure Tom read about Hogwarts and the four houses, though he refused to tell him how the sorting worked, except to say it was ridiculous and ingenious all at the same time. Both he and Tom were convinced that Tom would go to Slytherin, and Johan did his best to convey the culture he would find there. 

 Slytherin educated the most politicians out of the four houses, though relatively few Slytherins took on ministry positions right after they graduated. No, they were the political movers and shakers and had no interest in low level ministry paper pushing jobs. Instead, they worked hard to make themselves well known, and then either took on high level positions (either specialized positions like unspeakables or heads of departments) or gathered enough power to manipulate the ministry from the outside. And since parents had a habit of raising their children to be like them, many Slytherins were the children of Slytherins i.e. they were the children of powerful, wealthy parents. 

 Tom was a half-blood orphan raised without the trappings of wealth most Slytherins were used to. He only had a month to learn wizarding etiquette and as much wizarding culture as he could. He was also a Gaunt offspring, and while their ties to Slytherin had once granted them prestige and standing, the Gaunts had long since fallen into poverty and obscurity. Children are cruel, and Slytherin children were taught how to aim their cruelty for the greatest result. Tom would need every advantage Johan could provide to be able to get along well with his future housemates.

 One such advantage was a knowledge of Hogwarts. A few times a week Johan would find a need to go to Hogwarts, and he took Tom with him. He took Tom on a tour of Hogwarts, making sure to show him how to get from the great hall to the Slytherin common room, and from there to his classrooms. He taught him about tricky stairs and secret passages, though he only showed him the ones that were directly on the path from the Slytherin common room to the great hall; he wanted Tom to have the experience and fun of exploring Hogwarts for himself. Johan hoped that Tom could leverage this knowledge into making the first year Slytherins accept him, at least for the first week or two of classes while they did not know their way. Johan trusted Tom’s charisma to do the rest in making him accepted in his future house. Johan did not need to tell Tom anything regarding his parseltongue ability, Tom read about it on his own. When Tom asked him, Johan pointed out that one of the greatest healers in magical history was a parseltongue, and that it was labeled evil only because of its association with a certain inbred family line.

 One thing Tom did not do very well was fly; while the boy was well coordinated, he was not happy to be so high up. Johan let him know about mandatory flying lessons and, since Tom wanted to avoid humiliation, taught Tom well enough that he was a passable flyer. Hopefully, once Tom saw the benefits and popularity being a good flyer would bring him, he would work on improving that skill.

 Tom had spent quite a bit of time exploring Hogsmeade, where he met some future classmates, though none of them were first years. Still, this had the advantage of them telling Tom what the first year course work schedule would be, and what chapters he would cover in his spellbooks the first month of school as well as his assignments. From Johan, Tom already knew that teachers wanted neat, well organized work, so he had spent at least an hour a day practicing writing with a quill, and also improving his essay writing skills. By the time September first arrived, Tom was confident that he would be able to hide the fact that he was muggle-raised from his classmates, something he was very keen on. He was also confident that he was more knowledgeable than many of his peers and could use his mind to win allies if worse came to worse and his housemates shunned him. Tom was ready for Hogwarts.

* * *

 On September first, 1938, Tom woke up earlier than usual (he usually was up by 7:30). He hadn’t been able to sleep the night before and had stayed up late rereading a book that detailed magical families (not The Pure-Blood Directory by Nott as Johan considered it to be highly inaccurate) and going over the simple map he’d made of Hogwarts.

 Once he woke up, he showered and went downstairs, where Johan had already prepared breakfast for him (eggs, toast, juice, and sausage). Johan smiled as Tom ate his food, noticing how he seemed to radiate energy even while sitting down.

 “Do no worry, or be nervous. You are well prepared for Hogwarts; you know your way around and have a good idea of who your year mates are.” Johan tried to calm Tom down, but he immediately saw that his words did not help.

 “But what if they realized I was muggle-raised and shunned me? What if I use my accidental magic to hurt someone or they notice my aura? What if one of the professors notice my aura?” Tom was, for possibly the first time in years, nervous. This was his chance to belong, to find boys his own age who would play with him and, possibly, be his friends. Tom had never had that, and he had not realized how much he wanted it.

 “Simon has already assured you that your aura is much better – even he finds it hard to see any shadows in it. You have great control of your magic, and that will only improve as you use your wand. If any of the professors give you problems, or if any upper years try to bully you, come see me, I’ll help you work out a way to set them straight. As for your year mates, you have learned enough to fit in well, especially since, as a half-blood, they do not expect your manners to be perfect. You will do fine.” Tom still refused to look him in the eye and continued his half-hearted attempts at eating his breakfast. “The train leaves King’s cross at 11 am, and arrives at Hogsmeade station at 5 pm. Do you want to ride the train, or will spend the day at Hogwarts with me?”

 Tom finally looked up at this. He chewed his lips (a habit he had only recently developed) before coming to a decision. “I wish to ride on the train – it will allow me to get to know my schoolmates before getting sorted.”

 “Good. We will leave at ten, then, so be ready. Remember, you are not allowed to take your broomstick with you, and the Hogwarts library has enough books that you don’t need to bring many except your schoolbooks. Do you have any last minute questions?”

 “What happens if I don’t get into Slytherin? That’s what I’ve been preparing for, and I’m not sure I’d well in the other houses.”

 Johan laughed out loud at that, though this seemed to insult Tom. Johan decided to treat the question seriously. “Slytherin is the hardest house because the children there are trained to be socially aware from a young age. If you end up in Gryffindor, I will eat my robes, same with Hufflepuff. Ravenclaw will be no problem for you as your love of reading and learning will allow to fit right in. I will tell you that Ravenclaws have a reputation for being competitive when it comes to marks, and have a habit of bullying. However, I am sure you can take care of yourself. Please remember that, at Hogwarts, you are representing me, so if I hear anything about you taking part in bullying, I will ask the librarian to remove your borrowing privileges, alright?”

 Tom’s look of horror only served to amuse Johan.

* * *

 

 At precisely 11 o’clock, the Hogwarts Express left platform nine and three quarters, carrying four hundred students to a new school year. Tom had found a seat near the middle of the train, and was currently sharing his compartment with Alfred Avery, Casius Diggory, and Ernest Macmillan. All of them were first years who had older siblings or cousins that had greeted Johan, giving him the opportunity to introduce Tom as his ward. That had immediately caught the younger boys’ attention and they had dragged Tom to the first empty compartment and proceeded to try to get as much information regarding Hogwarts out of him as they could. Tom made sure to give little in the way of information, and instead did his best to turn the conversation topic towards the boys in the hopes of learning more about how wizarding families operated. By the time a prefect had come by and warned them to change into their robes, the four were well on their way to being friends and Tom had collected enough information to calm himself. Johan was, as usual, right – Tom would be able to fit in well enough among his wizard raised peers and would not need to worry about being shunned.

 Changing into their school robes, the four were all clearly nervous and excited to finally begin Hogwarts. None of them knew how the sorting worked, though Alfred’s cousins had done their best to convince him that he would need to go through an obstacle course and the first common room he found would determine his sorting. The other three were not convinced, though Tom felt slightly better for already knowing the way to the Slytherin common room.

 Travelling across the lake was a bother, but Tom’s first glimpse of Hogwarts had almost as much of an impact as his first sight of Tufts Cottage – the cottage was home, which made it more precious, but he could already tell that Hogwarts would have its own special place in his heart. He had before been confused as to why Johan, a clearly accomplished wizard, would choose teaching as a career. After seeing the castle, though, he could not fault him his choice.

 The Sorting Hat’s song was informative, though he could now see what Johan meant by the ‘idiotic and genius all at once’ comment; having a hat that read the student’s personalities was genius, but the fact that generations of witches and wizards allowed an object such open access to their mind without question was idiotic. It made him feel much better when the hat called out “Slytherin” almost before it even touched his head – the less time it spent looking through his mind, the better as far as Tom was concerned. He was happy to have received the normal amount of applause from his house, though it was not nearly as much as certain others like Ronin Lestrange received. Doing his best to affect a stately demeanor, Tom made his way to his new house’s table amid his house mates clapping.


	8. Year 1

 Alfred had saved Tom a spot next to him at the Slytherin table. Casius had been sorted into Hufflepuff while Ernest was now a proud Ravenclaw. Though the Slytherins had clapped, there were a few whose clapping for Tom was obviously half-hearted at best, only done because their other house mates had clapped. Tom smirked – Johan, while not obvious about it, had subtly prepared him for a less than warm reception at Slytherin. Turning his head to look at the head table, Tom made eye contact with his guardian, who sat four seats to the left of Headmaster Dippet, a distinguished looking wizard well into his second century. Johan gave Tom a warm smile as he clapped for the last student to be sorted.

 At that point, Dippet rose to give the traditional welcome back speech. “Welcome, students old and new. Welcome to a new beginning. Those of you who are just now embarking on your Hogwarts careers, know that your house prefects have the responsibility of helping you when you are in need. Prefects, I would like to remind you that you are expected to give the first years help throughout this year to help them acclimate to their new home. Whether it be homework advice or directions to their classes, I ask that all our older students make our first years welcome.

 “There are many rules here at Hogwarts, but I generally like to stick to three that are there for your own safety. The Forbidden Forest is the home of the local centaur colony, so I ask that you respect their territory. It is also home to a variety of wild animals such as wolves and snakes, but also magical creatures such as hippogriffs and thestrals. In short, the Forbidden Forest is not safe and any who venture within will not only suffer physically by being attacked by wild animals but they will also be punished by the Hogwarts staff.

 “Secondly, fights between students, magical or otherwise, are strictly forbidden and will result in punishment up to and including expulsion. Madam Selwyn is busy enough, she does not need additional work. Third and last, bullying and harassment of any type will not be tolerated. As headmaster, there is little that goes on at this school that I am not aware of, as older students can attest. We, the staff, are watching closely.

 “On other topics, though tomorrow is a Friday, your official classes will not start until Monday. Tomorrow, your heads of houses will speak to you regarding your curriculum, handout class schedules, and provide an orientation session for first years. Prefects and leaders of the various extracurricular activities here at Hogwarts, be sure to check in with your staff sponsors before Monday. Enjoy the feast and enjoy your year!” Dippet sat down to general clapping.

 Tom looked around at his house mates only to notice that food had appeared on the previously empty plates. As any self-respecting eleven-year-old boy would do, Tom loaded his plate and began to eat.

 Alfred and Tom were in the middle of discussing their classes when they were interrupted by Ronin Lestrange, who was sitting across from Tom.“Riddle, that is not a wizarding name. Are a mudblood?” This was said with a practiced sneer and a hungry look in his grey eyes, as if waiting to feed off of Tom’s humiliation.

 “I am a half-blood, and carry my father’s name. He is a muggle and, since my mother is dead, Johan, that is professor Tufts, decided to raise me since he felt that muggles should not have the raising of magical children.” All true, though he had made it seem as if he had grown up in Johan’s home.

 “What was your mother’s name?” Lestrange asked suspiciously, though he seemed to be disappointed not to have a muggle-born to torment.

 “My mother was Merope Gaunt.” Tom kept eating his supper while calmly answering Lestrange’s rather rude questions. If he chose to become a problem, Tom would deal with him in private, away from adult eyes. However, it seemed that others had been paying attention to their conversation.

 “Gaunt? The family that claims to be descended from Slytherin? Are you a parselmouth then?” A girl a couple of years older than them asked.

 Tom thinned his lips; he did not want news of his ability to spread throughout the school. He pinned the atrocious girl with his eyes and said clearly though in a low voice. “When we get to our common room, you’ll find out.” His meaning should be clear enough – _wait for privacy_.

 The girl seemed to get the hint for she turned away with a blush and a muttered apology. The other Slytherins hurried to return to their previous conversations; they all knew of the stigma surrounding parseltongue and understood that Tom wished to avoid it. If he proved his ability and ties to Salazar Slytherin, he would gain their immediate respect. If he didn’t, there would be a price to pay.

 Tom smirked again before continuing his own conversation with Alfred. The Gaunts lost their prestige mostly because they stopped sending their children to Hogwarts due to their lack of wealth and having too much pride to attend in second hand items. This cost them their political connections and caused rumors of the Gaunt line going to squib. Tom, however, was obviously a wizard due to his acceptance into Hogwarts, and was currently wearing new robes that were of the normal student quality. Not even the richest families were willing to buy extravagant school robes for their children due to them likely needing replacing annually. It would not only seem ridiculous on their part, but also aped the need to show off wealth that newly rich families had. Old money was quiet money.

 Tom had no fears and was very confident in his ability to gain acceptance among his peers. After having talked to Al, Cas, and Ernie for the whole of the train ride, all three of whom were purebloods raised in wizarding households, he had gained a handle of what to expect from his housemates. While some may be smarter than him, some more charming, more magically gifted, few of them had the combination of charm, power and intelligence that he had in abundance. He was used to scheming his way around children, befriending them won’t be that hard, especially since he had Johan as a resource. He could already see how Johan’s name has made the older students more open to him being in Slytherin; Johan was a popular professor and being connected to him increased Tom’s status. Tom will do well here, and enjoy it.

* * *

 After the feast, Headmaster Dippet dismissed the students to a rendition of the Hogwarts song. Two older Slytherins, a boy and a girl, with prefect badges on their chests came to where the first year Slytherins were sitting and indicated that they should follow them. Tom and Alfred got up, as did Lestrange, four other boys and eight girls. Alfred and Tom stayed together as they were all lead down to the dungeons and to an unremarkable section of the dungeon wall. The boy prefect opened his mouth but the girl prefect stopped him from talking by placing her hand on his arm. She turned around and faced the first years.

 "This is the entrance to the Slytherin common rooms. You are not to lead anyone from the other houses here or tell anyone where it is. There is a password to get in, and the password changes every week. However, house legend has it that parselmouths can always open the entrance by simply saying 'open' in parseltongue. Would anyone like to demonstrate?" She asked while looking Tom in the eyes.

 It was clearly a challenge - he would only be able to get in if he proved his ability to speak parseltongue. There were no paintings, no statutes here, no one other than the Slytherins around. The message was simple: show talent or expect to face the consequences of false advertising.

 Tom, with his now semi-permanent smirk, hissed "Open," and saw as a door shaped section of the wall swung inward. Other than Alfred, everyone else had taken a step back from him, and even Alfie was staring with wide eyes at Tom. Tom simply looked at the girl prefect with raised eyebrows. She swallowed, nodded, and lead the way into the Slytherin common room.

 That set the tone for the rest of Tom's first year. By silent agreement, only the Slytherin students (and Johan, but Tom didn't know that) knew about Tom's ability. Not even Slughorn, the head of Slytherin house and the potions master at Hogwarts, knew why his house treated Tom with such respect, though he assumed it was because Johan was so well liked as a professor. Tom had already gotten Slughorn’s attention when he had met him during the summer. Tom’s clear intelligence and charm won him an invitation to the Slug club the next year, a social club sponsored by Sllughorn that focused on networking. Only the stand out students were invited, those with connections, money, or were clearly talented.   

 Other than Alfie, and Cas and Ernie to a lesser extent, Tom had no close friends, though he was friendly with most of his year, and several of the Slytherin upper years. He took part in study groups with students from all four houses, and was known for tutoring his less talented year mates. Tom himself sought out Johan if he had any trouble with his school work, and the two had a standing appointment for tea every Sunday. Tom was the top student in most of his classes, with the exception of flying. All his teachers adored him (including Dumbledore) and encouraged him in his studies.

 In addition to his regular classes (transfiguration, charms, potions, defence against the dark arts, astronomy, and history), Tom signed up for the voluntary first aid course given by Madame Selwyn, and was lightly tutored in ancient runes by Johan. He was a member of the chess club (champion of his year), charms club, and participated in the etiquette lessons run by the upper year Slytherins (only available to fellow Slytherins). Tom absorbed every bit of knowledge that Hogwarts had to offer, and paid special attention to his older housemates and how they conducted themselves.

 Slytherin was the house of politicians, and the upper years used their time at Hogwarts to practice their political maneuvering. All Slytherins kept up with political news, at home and internationally, and took part in political debates. Each of the first years was partnered with a fifth year student for mentorship, and this lasted through third year when the mentor graduated from Hogwarts. Slytherin fourth years had a year to operate on their own and gain experience before taking on a first year to mentor themselves. Partners were decided by a draw, and if there were more first years than fifth years, the best of the fourth years would take on mentoring early.

 Tom’s mentor was Abraxas Malfoy, a sharp faced youth who wore arrogance as if it were a cloak and he was walking in a blizzard. Nevertheless, Abraxas was sharp, and a political genius. Tom’s obvious connection to Salazar Slytherin had won him Abraxas’ respect and the fifth year willingly shared many political tips and tricks. His yule gift to Tom was a year’s subscription to the Vault, a popular magazine covering politics and economics.

 Tom received mainly chocolate for his yule gifts, but Johan had given him a key to a Gringott’s vault with ten galleons already in it. Johan also threw Tom a surprise birthday party and invited Alfie, Cas, and Ernie to Tufts Cottage for a sleepover. Again, Tom received mostly chocolates, and a fur-lined cloak from Johan that was spelled for warmth and comfort.

 Before Tom knew it, it was time for the end of year feast. He had scored the highest marks in all his end of year exams, and had even broken a few records. Tom chose to travel on the Hogwarts Express with his three friends before being apparated home by Johan.

 The first two weeks of summer were spent doing his summer homework while Johan prepared his curriculum for the next year. Then, as a reward for his high marks, Johan took Tom on a tour of some of the magical communities in Europe. They visited France and Belgium, but when they got to Greece, Tom insisted on staying for the rest of the summer as there was simply too much to see and learn. Tom received his Hogwarts booklist while they were still in Greece, but again, he decided to use Johan’s old textbooks instead. It was late August before the two returned to Hogsmeade, and they only did so because Johan needed to finish prepping for the upcoming school year.

 This had been the happiest, most fulfilling year of Tom’s life.

 


	9. Years 2 and 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time skips a hoy!

 Tom’s second year was very similar to his first. He continued to impress his professors, charm his classmates, and gain the respect of his housemates. He studied how the more influential Slytherins conducted themselves and, in cases where a certain mannerism or habit interested him, learned from them. He slowly increased his involvement in the political debates, and convinced Madam Selwyn to offer an advanced first aid course.

 Socially, he interacted with many and was now friendly with all his year mates, from all houses, but he still only considered Alfie, Cas, and Ernie to be his friends. His weekly get together with Johan continued, though they spent much of their time discussing the differences between the magic practiced in Britain versus other parts of Europe. Tom had many masks that he wore, but he was happiest (though he did his best to deny this) when he could just be himself with Johan and Alfie.

 The Slug club was exactly what Tom expected it to be – that is, a grouping of worthy students who sat at Slughorn’s feet hoping for introductions to powerful people. Slughorn seemed to thrive on being the center of attention, and used every ounce of his Slytherin cunning to keep his students (past and present) tied to him. Still, Tom enjoyed the experience if only because it fed his need to manipulate others. He did meet a well-known inventor during Slughorn’s Halloween party, though Johan disapproved of Halloween. The Tufts were staunch pagans and celebrated Samhain, the day by performing protection rituals on their properties to hide them from muggles, and the night by fasting in remembrance of their dead before having a feast at daybreak. Tom received special permission from Slughorn to have the day off from school to join Johan in performing the protection ritual, attended Slughorn’s party (while fasting) before spending the rest of the night in meditation with Johan. Tom had no dead to honor, though he did burn a candle for his mother out of duty. She had used what little she had of magic to achieve her own selfish desires and left Tom to shoulder the consequences – he had little respect for her. Johan was appeased by Tom’s attendance to his Samhain duties, but he was still unimpressed with his choice to attend a Halloween party.

 As a combined Yule and birthday gift, Johan gave Tom Slytherins locket along with a note explaining Tom’s family connection to it. Johan had approached Ms. Smith and managed to convince her to sell him the locket, though he had to explain that it was part of Tom’s heritage. She willingly sold it for five hundred galleons (twice what she paid for it), but the fact that she sold it at all was worth the price. Tom was ecstatic, especially once he realized that he could use parseltongue to open it, revealing a faded portrait of Salazar Slytherin himself and his wife (or so Tom assumed).

 That summer, Johan and Tom travelled to India, where Tom was able to meet with other parselmouths. Parselmagic was an accepted and celebrated subject there and Tom was able to learn a lot from the local wizards and witches that practiced parselmagic. He was even able to purchase a collection of books on parselmagic to add to his personal library. Johan also took the opportunity to add to the Tufts’ library, though he mainly stuck to ancient runes and ritual magics. All in all, it was an enjoyable and informative summer for the both of them.

* * *

 Tom had chosen ancient runes (of course; not like Johan would have it any other way), arithmancy, and care of magical creatures for his third year electives. He was well ahead of his classmates in runes and arithmancy, but the hands-on aspect of care made it a challenge for Tom. Not that he was anything less than the top student, he just had to adapt his learning style for the course. He had already learned everything that ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ could teach him, plus he had read a few extra books on magical creatures, some out of interest and some because they covered creatures used in potions. He, however, had very little experience dealing with animals (without killing them) other than snakes, but he could communicate with snakes so they did not count. He had taken care because he could choose up to three extra (full time) courses and Hogwarts only offered five, and two of them were muggle studies (never.) and divination (as if!). Johan had also promised that their next summer vacation would be to the creature preserve founded and managed by Newt Scamander, Europe’s most famous creature expert. Tom hoped that care would prepare him for dealing with magical animals.

 Third year was also when Tom was able to take part in the dueling club. At Hogwarts, there were two dueling tournaments, a junior and a senior. The junior dueling tournament was for years four and five, while the senior dueling tournament was for years six and seven. Third years who were interested in participating in the tournaments were encouraged to join the dueling club to learn the basics of dueling as well as to develop their dueling skills. Tom, of course, was very soon declared the most gifted dueler of his year.

 By Yule Tom was the undisputed social leader of his year, in all houses. His perfect grades were the envy of every Ravenclaw, he went out of his way to be friendly to the Hufflepuffs and tutored them if they needed it, and the Gryffindors admired his dueling skills. Slytherins, other than respecting him for being a parselmouth, were both bemused and impressed by Tom’s ability to have the whole school wrapped around his little finger without the need to curse or hex anyone. Tom possessed that combination of cruelty and charm, manipulation and charisma, a certain way of holding himself that just drew people in and made them want to spend time with him. Thus, Tom was surprised and annoyed (and hurt) when Johan let him know that he would be away on business over the yule holidays. Tom, with encouragement from Johan, accepted an invitation from Alfie to spend Yule with the Averys, a well-known, pureblood family that were willing to overlook Tom’s unfortunate muggle connection due to his being an heir of Slytherin (his uncle was still alive at this point).

 Johan needed the time the Yule holidays afforded him to take care of a problem Harry Potter’s memories warned him about – Gellert Grindelwald. The name had already been whispered in the shadows for decades, but the second world war was coming, and Johan had no wish to live through a wizarding war, nor to see someone like Albus (a wonderful friend, teacher and person, but someone highly unsuited to political power) be put on a pedestal by the magical sheeple of Britain. Johan, due to Harry Potter, knew that Grindelwald would officially declare the beginning of his war during a public Yule appearance in German. Johan planned to take care of Grindelwald then – he was wanted by many magical ministries, including North America’s and Russia’s.

 Upon reaching Germany the day before Yule, Johan set up a runic trap that would simultaneously disarm Grindelwald and tie him up. The trap was already prepared, Johan only had to specify where he wanted it to spring, and it was easy to guess where Grindalwald would stand to give his speech, though Johan placed the trap in multiple spots on the stage just in case.

 On Yule, just as Gellert Gindelwald had finished his speech outlining the evils of squibs and the need to subjugate all muggle, and his plans to do this, Johan sprung his trap. It worked perfectly. Johan, who had disguised himself, collected the elder wand and Grindelwald before portkeying to the Russian ministry of magic. He handed Grindelwald over to their Aurors, collected their thanks as well as a five thousand galleon reward, and went back to Britain. The money he deposited into his Gringott’s vault (traveling every summer was costly!), and since he had refused to divulge his name to the Russians, he remained anonymous which meant no crazy fans or adoring public expecting him to be the next great auror. The Elder wand he broke and threw into the fireplace in his Hogwarts office; he wanted nothing to do with it.

 For Yule for Tom, Johan bought a large, blank journal that was bound in dragon skin, and enchanted to hold five times as much paper as it would have otherwise. He also bought him a book on privacy charms, spells, and rituals to use to protect his things. For Tom’s birthday, Johan took Tom to the ministry’s new Year’s Eve ball, which he had managed to get tickets to. Tom very much enjoyed the political atmosphere.

 By the end of his third year, Tom was still excelling in every way, and he very much enjoyed spending the majority of his summer at the magical creature preserve, where he had received hands on training from one of the Scamander children, all of whom followed in their father’s footsteps and were creature experts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Johan actually is spending a lot of money raising Tom. Hogwarts has free tuition, but Johan insists on buying Tom expensive gifts, quality school supplies, and their trips are not cheap. He also gives him an allowance of 25 galleons every year. However, Johan makes a decent living as a professor, and he also makes money of off enchanting objects or repairing enchanted objects. This means that his net worth is still increasing, though at a slower rate.  
> 2\. On Johan's defeat of Grindelwald staying anonymous: Grindelwald was still a relatively minor dark lord and Johan dropped him off in Russia, so the average British wizard would not care to look into it. Dumbledore may care eventually, but for right now he is just happy that he doesn't have to deal with it. I am working with the idea that Dumbledore has not developed his "for the greater good" routine yet - he is still smarting from almost becoming a dark lord and does not trust himself to be involved in world events.  
> 3\. On muggle tech vs magic: I find the whole tech vs magic thing depends on the author. From my point of view, magic is a form of raw energy, and being magical is having the ability to manipulate it. This energy does not work with muggle technology the same way that houseplants can't live off of salt water. Maybe, eventually, muggle technology will evolve into something that can handle magic better, but it is the technology that needs to change - magic is magic, there is no changing it. There are ways, though this requires research on the part of wizards, to magically mimic muggle weapons (including nuclear level threats), machinery and other technology. Johan admires muggle because they are creative and inspired and actually come up with ways to expand their capability. Johan is disappointed with the wizarding world because wizards don't think about coming up with new ideas, they keep updating and recycling old ones. He reads muggle books because they inspire him, and, though he didn't plan it, he hopes that by comparing muggle literature to magical literature, Tom realizes that wizards are not the perfect paragons he thinks they are.


	10. Year 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First I was on a trip, during which my laptop was stolen. Luckily, this story is already posted somewhere else, so I didn't lose it, but it took a while for me to scrounge up the dough for a new laptop.

 Most of Tom's focus in fourth year was establishing himself as a heavyweight in the political debates of his house since Abraxas had graduated, leaving Tom on his own. Needless to say, he did very well and gained a reputation for his insightful commentary and thorough knowledge of magical politics.

 Tom also established himself in the dueling ring. He was the best dueler of his year, but lost the cup to a fifth year Gryffindor whose family was full of aurors and hit wizards. Still, Tom was very disappointed in himself and was in a temper until Johan gave him a dressing down regarding his attitude ("No one likes a sore loser, Tom.") before pointing out that, though Tom would prefer to set himself as a saint who could do no wrong, saints had a habit of living short, miserable lives. This way, Tom still seemed human and did not draw the envy and jealousy of the upper years. After thinking about what Johan said, Tom realized his points had merit and apologized (to Johan only, no one else was worth that). He then made a point of talking to the junior dueling champion, congratulating him and asking for advice. This increased Tom's popularity with the upper years and also with his own year mates who were growing tired of Tom's perfect image.

 Tom knew that there was a war in the muggle world, but wizards mostly stayed out of it. Johan was slightly taken back when the second world war kept going even though Grindelwald was gone, but he shrugged it off. As far as he was concerned, he had done his duty and stopped a magical world war, the muggles would not welcome his interference, and honestly he did not know enough about the current events to make much of a difference. He knew the name Hitler, but had no idea where he was and whether killing him would end a war that had been brewing since Germany realized how many concessions it made at the end of the last war. Hitler was not the reason for the war, he only took advantage of the ill-will that was brewing already. Still a horrible person, but not Johan's problem.

 In this case, killing Grindelwald did make a difference. Without him to champion the use of concentration camps and hide them from the muggles, the German public was less willing to continue the war, and Hitler along with his most loyal supporters were ousted two years after Grindelwald's death and handed over to the Allied powers in return for better terms in the peace treaty. So, Johan did end up changing muggle history, but he wouldn't realize until next year.

 In the meantime, Johan and Tom spent the summer in magical South America, learning about Mayan rituals (most of them blood and death based) and more about parsel magic. This meant more book shopping and a deep tan for both of them. Johan also took the opportunity there to ask to formally adopt Tom, who agreed wholeheartedly. Thus, Cadmael (Mayan for 'war chief') Tom Marvolo Tufts was legally adopted as the only son and heir of Johan Aedan Tufts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no plans for Johan to have children, mainly because I decided he can't. His body died, his soul actually left and then was replaced after living a lifetime in another body - that has to have some consequences, especially since Johan is not the master of death, and is not a descendent of the Peverells. Harry Potter's soul may have free pass to keep on living, but Johan's physical body has no free pass and should be dead. He knows the price he paid to continue this life (went for a full check up with a healer after the event and was told he can't have kids) and got over it way before meeting Tom.


	11. Year 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anything in Italics is quoted from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 5.

 Fifth year was OWL year, and though Tom was ahead of the curve when it came to his studies and had no worries regarding passing his exams, he didn't want to merely pass, or even get Outstandings. Tom wanted to set records, and when he mentioned this to Johan in the first few weeks of school, Johan immediately gave him his support. Johan managed to get a hold of a list of the highest OWL examination results for the subjects taught at Hogwarts so that Tom would know what to aim for. He also offered to clear his schedule for Tom should he want extra tutoring in any subject. Tom was pleased and gratified by Johan's support, and they were at a point in their relationship that he didn't try as hard to hide it; Johan was Tom's family - he had taught Tom the meaning of family.

 They had both decided to wait until Tom graduated from Hogwarts before making his name change obvious, though Johan did register it with the British Ministry of Magic so that Tom would receive his OWLs and NEWTs results under his legal name.

 The grading of the OWL exams was the same as it was for Hogwarts in general; Outstanding meant 85% or above, Exceeds Expectations meant 70-84%, Acceptable was 50-69%, Poor was 40-49%, Dreadful was 30-39%, and Troll was anything less than 30%. Acceptable was the lowest passing mark, and each professor set their own minimum grade required to study a subject at the NEWT level (years six and seven). Tom was, of course, aiming for 100% on all his subjects, but knowing the highest grades per subject would help him judge which subject he should pay more attention to – other than Care, which was still his toughest course. Johan had suggested he drop it entirely and replace it with self-studying healing under Madam Selwyn's guidance, but Tom still wanted to break the record for that OWL, if only because he had put a lot of effort into the course over the three years.

 Tom's Prefect duties, while taking up valuable time, were enjoyable as they allowed Tom authority over his classmates. They also allowed him to be up for longer and to have greater interactions with the professors and other members of the staff.

 Another challenge this year was having a first year to mentor. Eileen Prince had a long, sallow face, lank, black hair, and a heavy brow. Her most distinguished and attractive feature were her eyes, which were large, a captivating black, and heavily lashed. The partnering of fifth years to first years was through a random draw performed by Slughorn the morning after the welcome feast; while the first years were being given the spiel about the extra mentoring that Slytherins received, the fifth years were given a slip of paper with their mentee's name on them. They were also given a thorough grounding on what their duties, responsibilities, and obligations were as mentors, and how important this was for their own development as well as the development of the younger years – teaching is, after all, the highest form of learning, and they were to teach their mentees how to thrive in Slytherin house. They would be judged based on the performance of their mentees; Abraxas had won much prestige and respect from how well Tom turned out, enough to kick start his political career to great success.

 Tom enjoyed the successful qualities in people – magical ability, intelligence, charm, wit, manners, grace, and beauty. After spending a week shepherding Eileen through Slytherin house, he was ready to draw up plans on how to best polish her into someone who would reflect well on him. Eileen's strengths included great intelligence, wit (when you can get the girl to talk), and a keen mind for strategy. Her magical ability seemed to be average, which Tom did not mind – most people were of average power, it's why it was the average amount of power. Her family was neither poor nor rich, though they were pureblood and well respected for their potions mastery. Seeing as how Slughorn was the potions professor, this would serve her well.

 Tom, however, was set on _polishing_ some of her _rough edges_ away. Mainly, the girl was sullen, antisocial, and had no social graces to speak of. Success in Slytherin required pretty manners and a poison tongue covered in honey – two things the girl lacked. Eileen also only performed the barest of grooming, enough to be clean but not enough to augment her lackluster looks. She also had a habit of hunching her shoulder and keeping her head down, obscuring her face with her hair. Tom was not having any of that.

* * *

 "What is your ambition?" Tom had lead Eileen to an out of the way corner of the castle, somewhere on the third floor. He had asked the house elfs (nicely; Johan would be cross otherwise) for a picnic brunch in preparation for this 'heart-to-heart' chat he planned to have with his mentee.

 "Execuse me?" The girl gave Tom a slight frown as she bit into a biscuit.

 "What do you hope to achieve in your life? Where do you see yourself in ten, twenty years?" Patience, patience. Tom honestly did not want to insult the girl, or come across as insulting. She had a lot of potentially, she just needed to learn how to better present herself.

 "Ah, well…Potions, I guess? I mean, my family is known for that, and I like it and am good at it." She looked at Tom and seemed more confident in her answer when he nodded along with her words.

 "Potions is a very important area of magic. Do you like experimenting or brewing?"

 "I am good at brewing, but…" she drew in a breath and seemed to be gathering her courage for her next words. "I want to experiment and develop a cure for myopia, or maybe just a potion that, when applied to the eyes, would improve eyesight." She looked almost fearfully at Tom for his reaction.

 Tom was nonplussed. "That seems oddly specific, any reason that you want to?"

 The girl nodded and looked down before whispering, "My dad was short-sighted, he wasn't wearing his glasses one day and couldn't see that he was sitting near a doxy nest. He ended up being bitten by too many of them and couldn't get help in time. If he could have seen, he would still be alive today."

 "Well, that's a good reason, but doesn't research require financial backing? And to successfully publish, you need to have a good reputation in the potions community. Slughorn could help you tremendously if you manage to get invited to his Slug Club next year." Tom ate along with the girl, trying to be subtle while still getting through to her.

 Eileen took a sip of her juice before looking Tom in the eye. "I have had class with him already, and even though I brewed the best potion, he barely paid any attention to me while going on and on about Greengrass's potion, which wasn't anywhere near the quality of mine."

 Tom gave her a pointed look. "Why do you think that is?"

 Eileen had obviously been smarting over this as she answered him quickly. "Because Greengrass is from money, and he _looks_ expensive, everything from what he's wearing to how he acts. He knows his family is important, and Slughorn knows it, too." She looked on the verge of frustrated tears, angry that someone less talented than her has gained more favor.

 Tom nodded before putting a light hand on her shoulder to catch her attention. "People care about image; if you present an image of being worthy, people will assume that you are worthy." Tom waited until she nodded her understanding before continuing. "My job is to guide you to becoming the most successful version of you. That means, in your case, teaching you how to project that image. You are already talented and intelligent, all you need to do is learn a few trick to make people see and acknowledge that."

 Eileen seemed to be caught up in what Tom was saying, as she continued nodding with increased enthusiasm with his every word. "What should I do?"

 Tom leaned back and looked at her. "The first part of image is bearing; hold yourself with confidence, don't keep your head down as you walk or hunch your shoulders. Back straight, head high, shoulders back. Up, you need to practice." 

* * *

 Eileen and Tom spent some time practicing her walk before Tom was happy with it. Over the coming months, they would work on her grooming habits ("you have beautiful eyes, draw attention to them."), social skills, and diplomacy. Eileen was the sarcasm queen, but Tom worked with her to learn when and how to utilize her sarcasm to best effect. While Tom did tutor her in her school subjects at times, she did not need much help there. He did set her to learning more about politics and encouraged her to pay attention to the political debates in Slytherin house to get a feel for them. He also got into the habit of subtly casting a stinging hex at her if she hunched her shoulders or walked with anything less than total confidence; she learned quickly.

 Between Eileen, studying for OWLs, the dueling tournament, and keeping himself on top in the games that Slytherins played amongst themselves, Tom found he had little time for chess club. He kept up with charms club because it was good practice for OWLs, and dueling was also relevant for OWLs since Johan had taught him to use charms and transfigurations in his duels. Chess, however, was something he could drop for a year without missing much; he still honed his strategic abilities in the Slytherin political debates.

 When the announcement was put up with the appointment times for each student's career interviews with Slughorn, Tom discussed things with Johan first. Tom wanted to become an unspeakable, climb up the ministry ladder as far as he could, then retire to teach at Hogwarts. Johan had laughed and said that he did not expect anything less from Tom. Johan shined with pride for a week after their talk, and gave Tom the journal of Edwin Tufts, who had worked in the Department of Mysteries in 1842-1867. Slughorn was also encouraging, though he was only told that Tom wished to work for the Department of Mysteries. Getting a job as an unspeakable for the Department was very competitive – Tom would need excellent references, high grades, and some research experience before he would even be considered. Between his Hogwarts professors and Slytherin housemates, Tom was confident in getting good references from important people. His grades should also not be an issue, especially since he was not at all challenged during his OWL exams. What he needed to work on was research experience.

 Tom and Johan continued their tradition of travelling for the summer holiday, this time to Egypt. Simon, who had become quite fond of Tom, introduced them to an old colleague of his who still worked as a curse breaker in Egypt. Adnan, the curse breaker, gave them an extended tour of his worksite and allowed Tom to job shadow him for a week before setting him up as a temporary, unpaid assistant. Johan was happy to sit back and drink iced tea while poor Tom spent his days under the desert sun categorizing artifacts and making lists in between running errands for everyone. Tom did learn a lot and ended the summer with a great reference letter from Adnan, who had been very impressed with Tom.

 Tom's OWL results had reached them late July, and Tom had immediately sent back his course selection for his sixth year.

Dear Mr. Tufts,

You will find the results of your Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations along with a list of the minimum grades required to continue in the NEWT level of each subject. You are expected to mail your head of house your NEWT course selection by no later than July 31. A list of the spellbooks and supplies required for all NEWT level courses is included to allow you time to shop for them.

We would like to congratulate you for achieving record breaking results for seven of your courses! You also hold the record for most OWL records broken by one person. The Wizarding Examination Authority provides a grant of one hundred galleons to students who achieve the highest marks of their year in any subject, which you have done for every one of your subjects! We therefore are very pleased to present you with a Gringotts' draft for one thousand galleons.

We also have a note from yourself and Madam Selwyn regarding your self-study in healing next year. There is a NEWT examination for healing available should you choose to take it. We have included a list of topics covered by the healing NEWT examination as well as recommended textbooks.

Best wishes,

Griselda Marchbanks

Wizarding Examination Authority

 _Ordinary Wizarding Level Results_  
Pass Grades:  
Outstanding (O)  
Exceeds Expectations (E)  
Acceptable (A)

 _Fail Grades:_  
_Poor (P)_  
_Dreadful (D)_  
_Troll (T)_

Cadmael Tom Marvolo Tufts _has achieved:_  
Ancient Runes O*  
Arithmancy O*  
Astronomy O  
Care of Magical Creatures O  
Charms O*  
Defense Against the Dark Arts O*  
Herbology O  
History of Magic O*  
Potions O*  
Transfiguration O*

*Record setting results

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In canon, it wasn't really made clear how powerful or weak Eileen Prince's (later Snape) magic was. Her son, Severus, was above average, but she could have been a near squib for all I could figure out.


	12. Years 6 & 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Regarding Tom's awesome grades, that is canon as he was known for being fiercely intelligent and driven, one of the brightest minds to ever pass through Hogwarts.

 Sixth year started off with Tom and Cassandra, Slytherin's other sixth year prefect, leading the first years to their dorms. While in other houses it was the fifth year prefects that lead the first years to their common rooms, in Slytherin it was the sixth years because traditionally the fifth years avoided the first years until the mentoring pairs were picked. Tom had made sure to speak to Eileen on the train to make sure that she had kept up with his image training, which she had. The Eileen Prince that walked into Hogwarts was a far cry from the year previous, a confident, well-spoken girl with many friends among her year.

 Tom was relieved mostly because he was starting his NEWT years and would have little time for Eileen. Sixth years carried a lot of the prefect responsibilities, more so than fifth and seventh years, because they were in between OWL exams and NEWT exams. That meant that Tom had ten hours a week of prefect rounds, and three hours of providing assistance to any professor who needs it, usually in the form of overseeing their detentions for the lower years.

 Between prefect duties, charms club, political debates, chess club, dueling practice, and spending at least a few hours a week mentoring Eileen, Tom had barely enough time to maintain his high marks, but he managed. Tom had taken Johan's suggestion of dropping Care of Magical Creatures, and he had also dropped History since there were not enough student for the subject to be offered at the NEWT level. He could have asked to self-study it, but instead gave himself a break and only took on healing as a self-study. He dedicated three hours a week to studying healing theory and three hours a week helping Madam Selwyn in the hospital wing, usually by brewing potions and doing some of her filing, though she was very good at quizzing him regarding what he had studied, and allowing him to observe her when she worked.

 Sixth year went by in a blur for Tom, who had used Yule and spring break to study ahead for his classes. It all paid off in the end when he received the top marks he was used to seeing, as well as a special surprise from Madam Selwyn: a summer internship at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Johan was a little sad that they couldn't travel like they usually did, but he still encouraged Tom to accept it. It was a great opportunity and the experience would improve his chances of becoming an unspeakable since he would have the chance to take part in medical research. Johan ended up spending the summer going over the various wards, charms, and other magics on Tufts Cottage and giving them a boost. It is important to do that every decade or so or else the magic starts to wear thin, which could prove fatal to the occupants.

 Tom's Hogwarts letter contained the expected Head Boy badge, which gratified him but also put further pressure on his schedule; while seventh years spent less time on prefect duties than sixth years, the Head Boy and Girl were an exception. Therefore, Tom spent the week before Hogwarts started glued to his spellbooks in an effort to avoid getting behind. Johan let him be, though he did buy Tom a few rare ingredients used in healing potions to experiment with.

 The school year, like the others previously, went quickly. Tom again dropped chess club to give himself more time to focus on his other endeavors, especially Eileen, who would be on her own next year. Tom again spent the Yule and Spring breaks studying ahead, and managed to maintain the excellent marks he was used to. Alfie, Ernie, and Cas had long ago developed the habit of cursing Tom's spellbooks shut regularly to get him to socialize with them; Tom considered the time he spent in the various clubs and the political debates to be socializing, but no one else seemed to agree.

 Eileen had flourished under Tom's guidance; she was currently the top potions student in her year (Slughorn loved her almost as much as he loved Tom) and near the top in her other subjects. She had chosen to take on Care of Magical Creatures as one of her third year courses because potions often used ingredients that come from magical creatures. She also took arithmancy and ancient runes, and was very active in the gobstone club. She was holding her own in the political debates (for a third year, anyway) though she would never have the instinct for it that Tom did. Her inclusion into the Slug Club allowed her to make connections with potioneers, who were happy to discuss their work with a gifted amateur.

 Johan spent most of the school year in a pensive mood, though Tom was too busy to notice. Johan knew from Harry Potter's memories that his soul was supposed to have been reincarnated a few years after Tom was born (since Johan had original died in 1919), but now that was not going to happen. He already knew that him being alive had changed this time line, but the fact that he had prevented a version of himself from existing was uncomfortable. He eventually got over it, but not before months of philosophical debating with himself.

 Tom breezed through the NEWT examinations, including the private one held for him as he was the only one who was tested for healing. Since NEWT results are so very important for finding a first job, they were sent out a week after the end of the year. Tom had given a fancy speech at the graduation ceremony, taken many pictures with his fellow students, and drunk a celebratory glass of fire whiskey that Cas had snuck in. Now, he was ready for the world.

* * *

Dear Mr. Tufts,

You will find the results of your Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests examinations. We would like to congratulate you for achieving record breaking results for three of your courses! The Wizarding Examination Authority provides a grant of one hundred galleons to students who achieve the highest marks of their year in any subject (excluding self-study courses), which you have done for every one of your subjects! We therefore are very pleased to present you with a Gringotts' draft for eight hundred galleons.

Best wishes,

Griselda Marchbanks

Wizarding Examination Authority

 _Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests Results_  
Pass Grades:  
Outstanding (O)  
Exceeds Expectations (E)  
Acceptable (A)

Fail Grades:  
Poor (P)  
Dreadful (D)  
Troll (T)

Cadmael Tom Marvolo Tufts _has achieved:  
Ancient Runes _O* _  
Arithmancy_ O* _  
Astronomy_ O _  
Charms_ O _  
Defense Against the Dark Arts O*  
Healing _O _  
Herbology_ O _  
Potions_ O __  
Transfiguration O

*Record making marks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dumbledore holds the record for transfiguration NEWTS, and anyway, Tom had a very busy year. He is intelligent but not a robot, and he spends more time socializing (for fun) than he did in canon, which further cut into his time.


	13. Young Adulthood

 Though he did submit an application right out of Hogwarts, Tom did not expect to get hired by the Department of Mysteries, and he didn't. There were many gifted witches and wizards with decades more experience than him applying for the rare open position in the Department. Tom's plan B had always been to apply to other Ministry positions and rise up the ranks, but his supervisor from his internship at St Mungo's, Healer Kenwick, contacted him early on in the summer with an offer to gain a double mastery in healing and healing research under his guidance. The opportunity was too valuable to waste and so, in July of 1945, Tom began his six year journey to become a Master Healer and Researcher. The pay usually was barely enough to rent a (very cheap) flat and buy food. Tom, however, had gotten into the habit of saving his allowance for the summer trips Johan and he took. Due to the fact that they had skipped the trips for the last two summers, and he had the grants from the Ministry from his examination results, Tom was able to buy a small flat in muggle London, near St Mungo's. Johan thought he was foolish for moving out, especially since he would have Tufts Cottage to himself for nine months out of the year, but Tom insisted.

 Healing came easily to Tom, especially since he had taken a NEWT in it, unlike the other Mastery students. He was able to finish the healing part of his studies in three years, and spent the other three gaining hands on experience under the eyes of whatever healer was willing to let him near their patients. For a research project, Tom studied the application of arithmancy in developing new healing potions and spells. He came up with two new healing spells, one that reduced pain for a few minutes at a time (long enough to transport a patient without the lack of pain getting in the way of their natural healing process) and one that turned a person's skin invisible, allowing healers to see into their body. He also worked with Eileen after she graduated from Hogwarts to develop a potion regimen that slowly improved eyesight when applied directly to the eyes. It had to be slow because if the potion regimen had been any stronger it would have hurt the delicate eye tissue.

 After he had finished his Mastery, Tom applied again to become an Unspeakable, and, again, he did not get in. Wanting to gain experience outside of Britain, Tom contacted Adnan to see if there was a demand for a healer among the curse-breakers there. There was, and Tom spent a fruitful five years working in Egypt as a healer while also collaborating with medical researchers there. It was a profitable time for him as curse-breaker teams paid handsomely to have a competent healer go into the tombs with them, especially one who had worked with cursed items before and had all the necessary NEWTs to become a curse-breaker himself.

 After Egypt, Tom travelled to Greece, where he was able to get a healing position at the magical hospital there. He was also introduced to a powerful seer who told him that he had avoided a very dark fate due to the influence of death's master. Tom, though he held little respect for divination, still wrote about the meeting in one of his weekly letters to Johan. After a year in Greece, Tom travelled to Russia and studied wards that protected against illness, which he hadn't known existed. Throughout the years he would routinely apply to the British Department of Mysteries, and he was finally offered a position with them at the age of thirty-two.

 Upon his return to Britain, Tom moved back into the muggle flat he had lived in during his mastery studies. His work as an unspeakable first started in curse reversal research. There, it was his job to study the new curses that were constantly being developed and find counter-curses. This was easy for him since spell creation was something he had a lot of experience in. His favorite thing about returning to London was the ability to talk to Johan face to face; he had missed his sole family member and had often found himself reminiscing about his childhood, when Johan provided all the advice and support he needed. Now, as an adult, it went against his sense of independence to depend on Johan to that degree. Tom was also happy to meet up with his old school friends – Eileen was now a well-respected potion mistress, while Alfie was being groomed to take over his family's financial interests. Cas was now a senior auror, and Ernie had taken up his uncle's law practice. They were uninterested in actually travelling themselves, but were awed by Tom's eclectic career path. Needless to say, it was that variety in his work experience that had landed him the job as an unspeakable.

 After a few years, Tom had gained the respect of his superior, enough for him to undertake his own research on the topic of his choice. Tom decided to study where muggleborns came from. For three years straight, he would set up a booth in Diagon Alley in August offering free inheritance tests for muggleborns in return for the right to use the information for research. Many adult muggleborns, and parents of underage muggleborns, agreed, giving Tom a sample size of several hundred to study. In the end, he was able to publish a paper showing that muggleborns were born when two people with magical ancestors within the last five generations had children. This not only gave muggleborns a claim to magical heritage, but also proved that magic truly was in the blood.

 Tom was then asked to study squibs in a similar way, which took him longer as he had to individually identify and contact squibs and ask them to take part in his research. He asked for not only inheritance tests, but also medical history and any memorable events from their childhood. He was only able to get a sample size of seventy, but his research did show a pattern. There appeared to be three reasons for why a person was a squib. The most common was when a magical married a muggle with no recent family history of magic, giving their offspring only a fifty percent chance of being born with magic. The second reason was the result of inbreeding, and not for the reason people thought. Magic was in the blood, but the body had a maximum concentration of magical blood it could take before being overwhelmed and leaving the magic blocked up in the child. These squibs had very potent blood for any blood rituals, and could do random bits of magic under pressure, but they could not use their high concentration of magic reliably and would never be able to use wands. The third types of squibs (and the rarest) was when a pregnant woman was magically attacked within a month of when her child was due. This interferes with the child's magical development and their magic never recovers.

 Again, this had significant impact on magical society. Pureblood families changed their view of their squib children – rather than useless, they could still breed magical children and take part in family rituals. It also meant that some pureblood families (not all) started encouraging their children to marry half-bloods and muggleborns to reduce the chances of squibs being born.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ends in 1968. Eileen had met and married a fellow portioner by the name of Damocles Belby and together they were working on a cure for lycanthropy. They had an eight year old son named Severus Belby who seemed intent on following in his parent's footsteps. So there, I still gave you guys Severus, am I not generous?


	14. Adulthood

 Tom walked into a muggle café in Cokeworth and headed straight to one of the window tables. Since he had returned to Britain, he and Johan had resumed their habit of having tea together every weekend. However, instead of Hogwarts, Johan had insisted they meet up in this particular café, which was on the edges of a muggle residential area, right across from a church. Johan had also insisted that they meet up on Sundays, right around when the church ended its service and the families walked out, many of them coming into this same café for Sunday brunch. Tom did not know why Johan was obsessed with the café, or that particular table that had such a good view of the church's front door, but they've been coming here weekly since he first returned.

 Sitting down across from Johan, Tom smiled as their usual waitress came by with his usual tea and scones – he was apparently very predictable. "How are you?"

 "Fine, great actually. Thanks to your research, Albus finally has the political support to set up a summer tutoring program for students who would not be able to practice their magic at home. The Ministry, and some of the less stuck-up purebloods, are hoping it will make muggleborns more comfortable in the magical world and therefore more likely to marry other magicals, increasing the magical birth rate. The Potters are especially supportive as they hope introducing fresh blood into their blood line will increase their family size beyond the single digits."

 Tom raised his eyebrows at that – he had been so busy with his job, he had not kept up with news regarding the lesser known families. "I didn't realize they had that kind of political pull, and isn't the Potter line down to only one aging couple?"

 Johan smirked and leaned forward. "Fleamont, the sly fox, sold his Sleakeasy hair potion company for a handsome fortune, and is not afraid to use it to get what he wants. And they have a son, James, born in 1960. A healthy boy, but related too closely to most of the well-known families. The Potters had done a good job of avoiding marrying cousins, but poor James will not have many options for a bride not closely related to him. His mother wants a witch for a daughter-in-law, not 'a muggle with a magic stick' as she calls it. She does not care about blood so long as the girl respects magical traditions and culture."

 Tom raised an eyebrow. "And this makes you happy, why?"

 "Because Nott, the fool who published that idiotic directory, was standing right behind her while she said that, and the look on his face when she started talking about the lack of decent-looking, mentally stable pureblood witches within the new generation." Johan chuckled at the memory and shook his head. "He got even redder when _Arcturus Black_ himself agreed with her and said that he had always disliked muggleborns because they refused to let go of the muggle world and integrate properly into the magical one, and not for any other reason! A Black said that!"

 Tom, unflappable Tom, was out-right staring at that last bit of news (actually gossip, but he'd never admit _that_ ). Shaking his head slowly, Tom went back to his tea and scones. "The head of the Black family supporting muggleborn integration… What happened while I was away?"

 "British wizarding society finally got its share of common sense?" Johan joked as he went back to watching a muggle family sitting at a nearby table; a mother, father, and two young daughters, one a very pretty red head and the other a long faced blonde.

* * *

  Johan, at the age of sixty-nine, was nearing middle-age for a wizard. He did not care so much – he knew what happened beyond death after all – but when Tom heard him complaining of back pain, his age came home to roost; Johan was getting old and old people eventually died. Tom hated the idea of death, of an end, of being brought down by his own body's failings. Johan, who had always burst with life, who had taught him the difference between being alive and living, Johan would eventually be nothing but an empty husk, soon followed by Tom himself.

 Well, not while Tom had anything to say about it.

 Tom spent two years studying why wizards aged, but all he could figure was that a body started failing at an arbitrary point without figuring out why it failed. Magicals lived, on average, eighty years longer than muggles – why? They shared the same form, the same genetic material, the only difference between them was magic.

 So Tom studied the aging process of adult muggles and adult magicals, and he started to understand – the bodies of magicals also started failing at age sixty, but magic helped the body stay strong and heal itself until it reached a point where the failure was too widespread for the magic to deal with. So, what was needed was an outside source that would rewind the clock for the body, return it to its peak condition, or something that allowed the body to maintain itself at peak condition for longer.

 The polyjuice potion temporarily changed the pattern of an individual's flesh to resemble another, but it did not stop the degradation – a one-hundred and fifty-year-old will still die of old age even if they spend all their time polyjuiced as a seventeen-year-old. Healing potions (example, skelegrow) did heal the body at a microscopic level, but most healing potions were targeted at specific organs and ailments and did not enact widespread change. What Tom needed was a mix of the two.

 Phoenix tears were powerful because the magic in them healed a body everywhere until the vitality of the tears were used up, but using phoenix tears in an immortality potion would quickly cause them to be hunted into extinction. Unicorn blood was cursed, and philosopher's stones were too hard to make. However, Tom did look into the process of making a philosopher' stone (there is some benefit to working in the Department of Mysteries) and he discovered something interesting – the stone was powered by its user's magic.

 This completely explained why the Flamels rarely interacted with magical society – all their magic was being used to keep them alive and they had little left over for their everyday use. It also explained why there was only one stone – few magicals were willing to give up their magic, even in return for eternal life.

 What Tom needed was a new branch of magic, a new branch of healing magic – self-healing. The ability to choose to funnel all your magic into healing your body for short periods of time, enough to 'heal' aging.

 This took Tom years, and he did not discover immortality – even with self-healing, eventually the aging process will happen and the body will fail. But, self-healing would extend magical lifespans by up to a century, depending on a person's magical ability and how strict they are about regular self-healing sessions. Furthermore, self-healing allowed for an extended youth - wizards and witches will only start visible aging (past the age from when they start practicing self-healing) the last decade or two of their life. One important thing he discovered was that only self-healing would be able to hamper the aging process; magic from other magicals will not be able to reach that deeply into another's genetics because the magic will be viewed as a foreign intruder.

 In 1972, Tom published his research as well as his first book, 'Heal Thyself: How to live to be 250'. Needless to say, it was a popular read.


	15. All Good Things Must Come To An End

 Obviously finding a way to extend the average lifespan by a century made Tom famous, and very popular. A very proud Johan watched as Tom received an Order of Merlin, First Class in the summer of 1972 and was inducted into the Wizengamot not three years later, at the age of forty-nine. The Wizengamot was the high court of law for magical Britain, and its fifty members were chosen via a device similar to the Goblet of Fire in that it judged worthiness, but the device did not bind witches and wizards to serve on the Wizengamot. Anyone can enter their name into the device, but those who receive an Order of Merlin are entered automatically. The members choose a leader, the Chief Warlock if male and High Sorceress if female, via an annual vote, though often a leader would serve for decades as they would keep being voted into power. It came as a surprise to no one that Tom was inducted as soon as there was an open seat available.

 Though being a member of the Wizengamot was not a ministerial position, it did grant a certain amount of social power; other wizard respected the word of Wizengamot members and so they tended to have a large yet subtle impact on Ministry policies. Tom, being who he was, took advantage of this.

 He began by offering to write monthly columns for the Daily Prophet, magical Britain's largest newspaper. His first column spoke of Johan taking him in and how all he had achieved was due to the mentoring that his adopted father had provided him with. Wouldn't it be neat if other muggle-raised children had similar mentoring?

 British witches and wizards agreed that it would be a good idea, and exerted pressure on the Ministry to make it happen. When before muggle-raised children were introduced to the wizarding world by a Hogwarts' staff member in mid-July, now the Ministry had a list of adult witches and wizards (who were thoroughly vetted) willing to take on that task. Muggle-raised children were also introduced earlier, on June first of the year they were to start Hogwarts, and their mentors would spend the summer getting them and their family ready.

 One benefit of this that Tom had hoped for was the increased awareness of the challenges muggle-raised witches and wizards faced in the muggle world. In the first year of the program, four muggle-raised children were removed from their muggle guardians due to the horrid conditions they were found in. Tom used part of the fortune he had made through his years of work to build and staff a small magical orphanage that could house twenty children at a time. During the school year, when the children were at Hogwarts, the orphanage, which was in Diagon Alley, acted as a day care center and day school for magical children too young for Hogwarts. The Ministry as well as many private citizens were quick to help Tom fund the operations of Merlin's Home, as the magical orphanage came to be called.

 Tom's columns covered a variety of topics, from new innovations to financial advice to international news. He often used it to answer interesting questions that individuals sent to him, though he also used it to subtly shift society's opinions. An example of this was when a Hogwarts parent sent him a letter complaining about the hiring of a half-giant as an assistant professor for Care of Magical Creatures at Hogwarts. Tom then wrote a column that congratulated Hagrid on his new post and reminisced about how he had always had a talent with dealing with magical creatures. Enough people trusted Tom's judgement that Hagrid was able to keep his post. Of course, Tom was not actually that fond of Hagrid, and thought his disregard for how dangerous certain creatures were would prove to be a problem, but Johan was fond of Hagrid and Tom would not turn away a chance to help a friend of Johan's. Tom did speak to Dumbledore about setting strict guidelines for Hagrid to follow, and Dumbledore was willing to listen to Tom's concerns and act on them.

 The many years turned to decades and Tom went on to live a fulfilling life. He never did get married, but chose instead to have children using a hired bearer who was thoroughly investigated to make sure she would provide good genetics. One day, Tom was called into St Mungo's for an emergency.

* * *

 He had never realized how busy St Mungo's could get, or how much work it was to simply find out which room the person you were trying to visit was in. By the time Tom made it to room 531B he was very low on patience and near panicking – his breaths were coming in fast and shallow, he was actually sweating, and his eyes had a wild look to them. Opening the door, he was greeted by a sight he both loved and hated.

 Johan was there… on a hospital bed, weak and delicate looking.

 It was too soon, he wasn't ready! Who else would give him advice, who understood him completely, who supported him whole heartedly and without any flicker of doubt? He _needed_ Johan to be okay, needed him to be there. At the age of two-hundred-and-one, Tom found himself still deeply attached to his parent figure.

 Tom was still in the doorway, unconsciously putting most of his weight on the handle, when Johan opened his eyes and noticed him. With a smile, he attempted to raise his hand to Tom, but only managed a few inches before dropping it back down. Nevertheless, it was enough for Tom, who entered the room, closing the door behind him.

 "Wha-? _WHY_? You should still have decades; this is- this is too soon!" Tom was babbling as he stumbled his way to the chair beside the bed and grabbed onto Johan's nearest hand. His eyes never left Johan's, whose deep brown gaze still held the imprint of power that Tom had gravitated to all his life. No one, no friend, no bed partner, not even the woman he had chosen to bear his children, was anywhere as respected by Tom as the man in the hospital bed. The one person Tom would consider an equal (not even his children were worthy of that, though they were dear to him) was dying – of _old age_!

 He was forced to accept his own mortality due to his research revealing that the human mind could not withstand an infinite life, not without breaking. The Flamels, who famously lived into their sixth century, had contracted him as their healer when they started showing the symptoms of a brain cancer. It seems as if not even magic could protect the genetic code past a set number of mitosis cycles. Over the decades, as Tom had seen his children and grandchildren grow, he had come to tolerate the necessity of there being a life and death cycle to govern mortals. The old must let go so that the new may take over, and he was proud enough of his descendants to want them to have their own chance to change the world into their image.

 But Johan! Not him, not this soon! Tom wasn't ready to be alone, to let go of his mentor, of his father, the inspiration behind Tom's own character!

 "Tom…" The whisper was weak, forcing Tom to lean in to hear it. "This is not the end… This physical shell is dying, but my soul, it will be cleansed and allowed to be born into a new, fresh body, just as all souls do. Death is not forever, it is only the process of shifting from one incarnation to the next… Tom, do you understand me? This is not _the_ end, it is only _an_ end, and also a beginning." Johan stared Tom in the eyes, doing his best to make him understand. "I will be reincarnated in a decade or so, into a new infant body with little to no memories of this life, but it will still be me. The world has not seen the last of Johan Tufts, who was once known as Harry Potter, among a plethora of other names."

 "But you won't be you, you'll be gone beyond my reach." Tom nearly sobbed.

 "I promise you, I will do my best to wait for you, on the other side. I'll wait and we can start our new incarnations together."

 "How...?"

 "The powers that be respected Harry Potter, hopefully they will be willing to grant him this favor. We'll be together again, I promise you." Johan's eyes started to flutter close, his last act was to soundlessly repeat his promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end. Sorry that it was less of a show and more of a tell story, but I hope you enjoyed it. If anyone is interested in using this as a starting point to their own story, or would like to rewrite it or play around with it, feel free to do so (I would be very flattered) though let me know so that I can read your fics.  
> Jan 20/2018 - just a minor grammar edit.


End file.
